Florida man convicted of traveling to have sex with a child was arrested for the same reason 2 months after being released from prison: DOJ

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It took just two months for a Jacksonville man who was released from prison in 2023 on child sexual abuse charges to be taken into custody again for the same reason, according to court documents.

Jeremy Wayne Leggett, 36, became a registered sex offender after being convicted in 2020 of traveling to meet a child for sex. On Tuesday, federal prosecutors announced that Leggett was charged with attempting to meet a child for sex.

He faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, life in prison and possible life probation.

According to prosecutors, Leggett was convicted in Florida in 2020 of meeting a child for sex and sending “harmful materials” to a child. In August 2021, he was charged with failure to comply with the sex offender registry.

Department of Corrections records show Leggett was released from custody in April 2023.

Two months later, Leggett began trolling teens again, according to the FBI. Using the profile name “dAddi,” she posted a message saying, “I’m looking for a girl (under 18 emojis),” prosecutors said.

But Leggett didn’t know that the “13-year-old” he was texting was actually an undercover agent, according to court documents.

Prosecutors said Leggett asked the “teenager” if she liked older men, sent the “girl” an explicit photograph of herself, and at one point asked the “teenager” if they could meet in person for sex.

Investigators said Leggett continued the conversation for three days and eventually convinced the “kid” to meet in person on June 19, 2023.

However, they said that when he arrived in his car and saw law enforcement officers, he quickly fled the scene. He was found a short time later at a home in Jacksonville and arrested.