The “14 year old” was an undercover Tampa police officer.

TAMPA – A man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for trying to have sex with a 14-year-old boy, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said.

Richard Plummer, 37, of Tampa, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for attempted enticement of a minor. Plummer was also ordered to serve 25 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender. He pleaded guilty May 25.

According to court documents, in March, Plummer exchanged more than 160 text messages with an individual whom he believed was 14 years old. During the conversations, Plummer attempted to induce the child to meet him for a casual sexual encounter. Plummer also sent the child explicit photographs and video of himself. The 14-year-old boy, in reality, was an undercover officer from the Tampa Police Department. Officers arrested Plummer after he showed up to a residence to have sex with the child.

This case was jointly investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tampa Police Department.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

For information about Project Safe Childhood, go to justice.gov.

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