A 38-year-old Arizona man is headed to federal prison for four decades after prosecutors said he spent years grooming and physically abusing a teenage girl on Florida’s Treasure Coast. U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon on Thursday handed down a 480-month sentence in Fort Pierce, followed by lifetime supervised release. Authorities say his pattern of online manipulation and in-person abuse ran from 2023 through 2025, when the victim was between 13 and 15 years old.
Joshua Black pleaded guilty to production and transportation of child sexual abuse material. Investigators say he used video calls and screenshots to pressure the girl into explicit acts before flying from Arizona to Indian River County and meeting her at a Vero Beach hotel, according to the Tampa Free Press. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Kahn Obenauf and Justin Hoover prosecuted the case, the outlet reported. Federal officials say the sentence caps a multi-agency probe that zeroed in on both the online grooming and Black’s efforts to preserve the images.
How prosecutors say he groomed the victim
According to prosecutors, Black coaxed the teen into performing sexually explicit acts over video, then captured those moments with screenshots. “This defendant used the internet to target a 13‑year‑old child, manipulate her into sexual exploitation, and preserve those images for his own gratification,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said in a statement reported by the Tampa Free Press. Authorities say the abuse escalated when Black crossed state lines and assaulted the victim in person.
Investigation and prosecution
Officials say the FBI Miami Fort Pierce Resident Agency led the investigation with assistance from the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, and the case was brought in federal court in Fort Pierce. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida has repeatedly highlighted its partnerships with the Fort Pierce resident agency on child exploitation cases, noting that federal and local teams routinely join forces on Treasure Coast investigations, according to the office’s press releases.
Legal note
Production and transportation of child sexual abuse material are felony offenses under federal law and can carry prison terms that stretch for decades. Statutory summaries and congressional materials explain how aggravated facts and certain prior convictions raise mandatory minimums and enhance penalties, especially for trafficking and production offenses.
If you have information about suspected child exploitation, contact local law enforcement or report it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline at CyberTipline or call 1‑800‑THE‑LOST (1‑800‑843‑5678). Federal and local victim-assistance offices can provide support to survivors and families.
