A former Clay County Sheriff’s Deputy has pleaded guilty to producing and possessing child pornography.
The Department of Justice says between December of 2019 and May of 2020, Travis Ryan Pritchard from Green Cove Springs used an online chat application to communicate “in a sexual” manner with a 15-year-old. On April 29, 2020, an undercover detective from the Green Cove Springs Police Department assumed the child’s identity and continued communicating with Pritchard.
On May 1, Pritchard encouraged the child to sneak out from home to meet with him for a “quickie.” He then sent a picture of himself wearing nothing but boxers.
On May 2 at about 2 a.m. Pritchard went to the child’s home in his patrol vehicle and sent a message saying “I’m here.” Shortly thereafter, Pritchard was arrested by officers from the Green Cove Springs Police Department.
On Pritchard’s cellphone investigators found several conversations between Pritchard and the child as well as an encrypted folder with images of child sex abuse.
Pritchard, who is now 37, faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, and up to 50 years, in federal prison with a life term of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Green Cove Springs Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly S. Karase is prosecuting.
The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the DOJ in May of 2006 to fight child sexual exploitation and abuse.
