A Jacksonville man has entered a guilty plea to charges that he attempted to lure an 11-year-old into sexual activity, facing a mandatory minimum of 10 years up to life in prison with a possible lifetime of supervised release, according to a recent announcement by U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg. Amol Chandrashekhar Khedkar, 59, was apprehended after an undercover operation by the FBI, where an agent posed as the parent of a child on a social messaging app, leading to his arrest on November 29, 2023, a sentencing hearing has been scheduled for December 19, 2024.
Following initial contact made by Khedkar with the undercover agent through a private message on the app, discussions explicitly conveyed his intent to engage in illicit acts with the purported child, the meeting was set up for the subsequent day at the minor's residence evidence from the case and open-court discussions reveal, he asked questions about the child's sexual experiences, and directed the supposed parent to involve the child in preparatory acts such as taking a shower before the meeting. Khedkar's communications and photos depicting child sexual abuse were later discovered on his cellphone after law enforcement executed a search warrant.
The sting operation was part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in 2006 aimed at addressing child sexual exploitation and abuse, this case, jointly worked by the FBI and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, falls under the nationwide project that brings together various levels of the justice system to vigorously pursue offenders and protect the vulnerable youth. Assistance U.S. Attorney D. Rodney Brown is leading the prosecution for this case.
As confirmed in the U.S. Attorney's official press release, Project Safe Childhood engages federal, state, and local resources for the capture and prosecution of individuals who exploit children online, and the project emphasizes rescuing victims in addition to pursuing predators, public information on Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc for those interested.
