FORT PIERCE — A county resident was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez in Fort Pierce, on Aug. 25, to 24 years and 5 months in prison for enticing minors over the internet.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Deryl Loar, Sheriff, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, and Alysa D. Erichs, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), made the announcement.
Jay Frederick Nagel, 26, of Indian River County, was sentenced to concurrent terms of 292 months’ imprisonment following his guilty plea to three counts of enticement of a minor. Following his term of imprisonment, the defendant will be placed on supervised release for 20 years and be required to register as a sex offender.
Nagel created a Facebook account using the alias “Jonathan Langley” and purported to be between 21 and 23 years of age, according to court records. In the fall of 2013, Nagel used Facebook’s private messaging service in order to communicate with 12 to 17-year-old females in Indian River County. Search warrant records for Nagel’s Facebook account produced the message content data of the defendant’s communications with the minor victims.
Nagel targeted emotionally vulnerable minors. Nagel would befriend, compliment and express his interest in the minors, over the internet. After establishing a connection with the minors over the internet, Nagel would meet the victims in person and on occasion provide them with alcohol or marijuana. Nagel also enticed the minors to engage in sexual acts with him at his place of employment, at his apartment, or at the victims’ residences.
Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office and ICE-HSI for their work on this case. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Butler.