A St. Petersburg man accused of soliciting a child online is now in central Indiana, where he is set to face three child solicitation charges tied to Instagram messages that investigators say date back to 2019. Court filings trace the alleged contact to an exchange with a then 12-year-old girl in Franklin. His initial hearing is scheduled for Thursday afternoon in Johnson County Superior Court.
Documents reviewed by Fox59 identify the suspect as 32-year-old Jeremiah Juist of St. Petersburg. According to those filings, Franklin police took a report on March 1, 2019, about an inappropriate Instagram conversation involving the girl. The records state that Juist was later the subject of an outstanding warrant connected to three child solicitation counts filed on December 1, 2019, and that he was arrested in Pinellas County, Florida, before being extradited to Johnson County.
Johnson County detectives have been running undercover social media sting operations since 2019 to identify alleged online predators, and authorities say those efforts have produced dozens of arrests over multiple years. As reported by WFYI, the sheriff’s office has coordinated with several local agencies on multiple sting operations beginning in 2019.
Court records say the Instagram messages at issue in Juist’s case included sexual text, photos and videos. Investigators say the suspect referred to the girl as his “property” and called it “hot” that she was 12. Detectives report that they matched selfies from the Instagram account to a Florida driver’s license photo and a Florida jail booking photo, which they say led to the Pinellas County arrest before Juist was transported to Indiana. Those details are outlined in documents obtained by Fox59.
Charges and possible penalties
Each child solicitation count in the filings is charged as a Level 5 felony. Under Indiana sentencing guidelines, a Level 5 felony carries a prison term of one to six years, with an advisory sentence of three years, and enhancements can increase that term in certain circumstances. For detailed sentencing tables and advisory terms as the case moves forward, see materials from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.
Juist’s initial hearing is set for Thursday in Franklin, where a judge will consider bond and set future dates in the case. The Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office will handle formal filings and any scheduling from here, and additional court records are expected to become public as those steps occur.
