CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — A Clay County man has been arrested and indicted by a federal grand jury for attempting to entice a 9-year-old child to engage in sexual activity, the United States Attorney's Office announced Friday.
Eric Weber, 30, of Green Cove Springs was also indicted for soliciting and distributing child sexual abuse videos using the internet.
The Green Cove Springs Police Department arrested Weber during a traffic stop on Monday, July 5.
According to court documents, Weber used the name “BUBBLESXD_90,” to upload an image depicting the sexual abuse of a child to a chat group on a "popular" social media app.
During the investigation, authorities were able to identify Weber behind the alias name.
Beginning in March 2021, an undercover FBI agent, posing as the parent of a young child, engaged in an online conversation with Weber using the app, the States Attorney's Office said in a press release.
The two chatted for a while and Weber was informed that the “child” was only nine years old.
After learning the information, detectives said Weber offered to serve as the “child’s” trainer by engaging in sexual activity with the “child.”
He also requested that the “parent” take an explicit photo of the “child” for him, and he provided specific instructions on how to accomplish this through various means, authorities said.
On at least seven occasions, Weber sent the “parent” videos over the internet that depicted the sexual abuse of young children in an effort to demonstrate exactly how he planned to molest the “child,” the release said.
If convicted on all charges, Weber faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years and up to life in federal prison.
Additionally, Weber also faces a $1 million fine and a potential life term of supervised release.
