Tampa man sentenced to 10 years for coercion and enticement of minors

TAMPA, Florida — U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced 25-year-old Caleb Belanger, of Clearwater, to 10 years in federal prison for coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and possession of child sexual abuse material.

The court also ordered Belanger to pay $3,000 in restitution and forfeit an iPhone and iPad, which were used to commit the offenses. Belanger entered a guilty plea on March 26, 2024.

According to court documents, Belanger enticed approximately 30 minor females, all between the ages of 13 and 17 years old, to take sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves and send the images to him via a mobile application, in exchange for money, vapes, and alcohol. He also offered money in exchange for sex and other sexual acts. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Belanger’s home and seized his iPhone and iPad. A search of those devices revealed that Belanger possessed 1,209 images and 111 videos of child sexual abuse material.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the Tarpon Springs Police Department, the St. Petersburg Police Department, and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ilyssa M. Spergel and Ross Roberts.

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.