A 30-year-old Hollywood man is facing federal charges after investigators say he used Discord to build an online relationship with a 14-year-old girl in Washington, D.C., then exchanged sexual messages and videos with her. The case came to light after the teenager told a school counselor, triggering a police referral and an FBI review of her phone.
Christopher Larry Richards III was arrested by federal agents Tuesday, according to Local 10. Court records list charges of coercion and enticement of a minor, transfer of obscene material to a minor, and attempted receipt of child sexual abuse material; Richards was being held in the Broward Sheriff's Office main jail for the U.S. Marshals Service.
The federal complaint says Richards communicated with the girl on Discord beginning in December 2025. After the girl disclosed the relationship to a counselor in February, the FBI extracted chats from her phone and traced Discord data tied to the username “hitdatshot#0” to an IP address at Richards’ Hollywood home, Local 10 reported. In one exchange, the complaint says, Richards replied, “Thank you for reminding me. You literally just turned 14.”
What The Federal Charges Could Mean
The most serious count, coercion and enticement, is brought under 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b). The federal statute provides for a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison when an adult uses interstate communications to persuade, induce, entice or coerce someone under 18 into illegal sexual activity, or attempts to do so.
The obscene-material charge is governed by 18 U.S.C. § 1470, which carries up to 10 years in prison for knowingly transferring obscene matter to someone under 16 through interstate commerce, according to the federal statute. The precise sentencing exposure, if any, would depend on the final charges, evidence and outcome of the case.
South Florida Cases Show How Online Contact Becomes Evidence
This is not the first recent federal child-exploitation case in Florida to begin with online contact. In May, Middle District prosecutors said an Orlando man was sentenced to life after a scheme that targeted more than 50 children through social media and gaming platforms.
In Richards’ case, investigators say a school disclosure and digital records helped move the inquiry from Washington, D.C., to South Florida. The allegations remain unproven in court, and Richards is presumed innocent unless prosecutors establish the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
