Tampa Republic

Kevin Patrick Wilson of Ponte Vedra has been arrested and charged with attempted enticement and coercion of a minor, as announced by United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg. If convicted, Wilson faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years to life in federal prison. He was detained pending trial following his arrest on July 24, 2025.

Court documents reveal that on July 20, 2024, a social media user posted in a Facebook group seeking a tutor for a child. Wilson, posing as a woman, directed the poster to contact him through text message. The poster described needing tutoring for an 11-year-old child. After exchanging photos and messages, the interaction ended abruptly and was reported to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.

Subsequently, an undercover detective contacted Wilson under the guise of being the guardian of a 12-year-old girl seeking tutoring services. Wilson allegedly began discussing sexual topics related to the "child" and arranged to meet for sexual acts. He was arrested at the predetermined location on July 24, 2024.

A criminal complaint is an allegation that does not equate to guilt; defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The investigation involved the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI in Jacksonville and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse using resources from various levels of law enforcement to apprehend offenders and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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