JACKSONVILLE — A 38-year-old former pre-kindergarten teacher at a Ponte Vedra Beach school was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for using the internet to attempt to entice a 13-year-old child to engage in sexual activity, U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced.
United States District Judge Jordan E. Pratt also ordered Tony Leroy Bartley Jr. to serve a 10-year term of supervised release and register as a sex offender. Bartley pleaded guilty on January 27, 2026. At the time of his arrest, he was employed as a pre-kindergarten teacher at a school in Ponte Vedra Beach.
The case began when an FBI undercover agent in Jacksonville was conducting an online operation on a social media application to identify adults seeking sexual contact with children. On July 25, 26, and 29, 2025, the agent and Bartley exchanged private messages on the app and by text. After the agent told Bartley the purported child was 13 years old, Bartley suggested they engage in sexual activity, provided graphic descriptions of acts he wanted to perform, and sent an explicit photo of himself to the supposed child, according to court documents.
FBI agents arrested Bartley on August 5, 2025. During an interview, Bartley admitted he had communicated online with a girl who was “underage” and discussed having sex with the child. “I should have stopped at 13 [years-old], and that’s on me,” Bartley told agents. He also acknowledged sending the explicit photo, adding, “I’m going away for a long time.”
The FBI and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown prosecuted it as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The program marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children.
Bartley will begin his 10-year term of supervised release upon completion of his federal prison sentence.