Ocala man arrested for attempted enticement of a minor

OCALA, Florida — Christopher Shaun Jonas, a 32-year-old from Ocala, has been arrested on charges of attempted enticement of a minor, according to United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.

If convicted, Jonas faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. The indictment was returned on August 6, 2024.

According to court records, on July 23, 2024, Jonas contacted a profile on an internet application designed for prostitution. This profile, however, was operated by a Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) undercover detective. The undercover detective told Jonas that she was a 13-year-old girl, and Jonas described in graphic detail the sexual acts he wanted the girl to perform on him. Jonas subsequently agreed to pick up the child for the sexual encounter at a location in Marion County. When Jonas arrived, law enforcement arrested him. Investigators found the cellphone Jonas had used to communicate with the undercover detective inside his vehicle.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Hannah Nowalk.

This case was 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 Attorney’s 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.