An Ocklawaha man will spend the next ten years in federal prison after a digital sting operation caught him attempting to meet an undercover officer posing as a child.
U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber handed down the 120-month sentence to 22-year-old Clayton Lee Harris in an Ocala federal courtroom. The sentencing follows Harris’s formal guilty plea entered on November 13, 2025, for the attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.
The investigation began in the summer of 2025. According to federal court records, an undercover officer was operating on a dating website on July 26, 2025, portraying a 14-year-old girl. Harris initiated contact with the account and continued the conversation even after being informed of the “minor’s” age. Prosecutors stated that Harris then requested a meeting for a sexual encounter.
The interaction moved from the digital space to a physical location, where Harris was arrested by law enforcement as soon as he arrived.
U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced the result of the case, which was the product of a joint investigation between Homeland Security Investigations and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk Watson led the prosecution.
The arrest and subsequent conviction fall under the umbrella of “Project Safe Childhood.” Launched by the Department of Justice in 2006, the initiative aims to pool the resources of federal, state, and local agencies to track down individuals who exploit children online.
Harris was remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons to begin his sentence.
READ: Leesburg Man With String Of Felonies Handed Five-Year Federal Prison Term Over Gun Sale
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