TALLAHASSEE — A 27-year-old Tallahassee man pleaded guilty in federal court to attempted enticement of a minor and attempted transfer of obscene material to minors after an undercover operation caught him trying to meet a child for sexual activity in Leon County.
Chandler Brittain Smith faces a minimum of 5 years and up to life imprisonment on the attempted enticement count and up to 10 years on the obscene materials count, U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin for the Northern District of Florida announced.
“The threats our kids face online are growing, but our excellent state and federal law enforcement partners are committed to catching the predators seeking to sexually exploit and victimize children using the internet,” Heekin said. “My office will continue to aggressively prosecute these sick individuals to ensure they are kept behind bars, off the internet, and away from our kids.”
Court documents show that in November 2025, Homeland Security Investigations, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Tallahassee Police Department conducted a joint undercover operation in Leon County targeting individuals using the internet to sexually exploit children. Investigators posed as a minor child on an online social media platform. Over a two-day period, Smith sent the undercover investigator multiple sexually explicit messages and an obscene photo in an effort to entice the fictitious child to meet him for sexual activity. Smith traveled to a pre-determined meeting location on Nov. 10, 2025, and was arrested.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin M. Keen as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 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 exploit children online and to identify and rescue victims.
Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 18, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before United States District Judge Mark E. Walker.