United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe today announced the return of an indictment charging a North Carolina man with attempting to entice an 11-year-old child to engage in sexual activity.
Geoffrey Lee Dudding, 39, of Concord, North Carolina, faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison, as well as a potential lifetime term of supervised release, if convicted.
Dudding is identified as a registered child sex offender with previous convictions in North Carolina. His criminal history includes a 2007 conviction for indecent liberty with a minor and a 2024 conviction for solicitation of a child by computer to commit an unlawful sex act.
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According to court documents, the indictment stems from an undercover operation initiated on January 13, 2025, by an FBI agent in Jacksonville. The agent posed as the parent of an 11-year-old child in a public chatroom on an online social messaging platform, posting messages to identify individuals seeking contact with children for sexual activity.
An individual later identified as Dudding, using the username “metalh34d321,” contacted the undercover agent via private message. Dudding allegedly expressed interest in the “daughter” and stated, “Let me know if ya ever down to let me do her.” Despite being repeatedly informed that the “child” was 11 years old and resided in Florida, Dudding allegedly conveyed his desire to meet the “child” for “a good time and sex.” He is accused of describing specific sexual acts he wished to perform and sending the undercover agent an explicit video of himself to show the “child.”
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Communication between Dudding and the undercover agent also reportedly occurred via cellphone text messaging. They discussed plans for Dudding to travel to Jacksonville, Florida, with the intent of engaging in sexual activity with the “child.” Dudding allegedly stated he would book a hotel room in Jacksonville.
Dudding was apprehended by FBI agents in Concord, North Carolina, on May 8, 2025. He is currently detained and will be transported by the United States Marshals Service to Jacksonville, Florida, for prosecution in this case.
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