An Ocala man who attempted to entice a detective posing as a 15-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity with him and one of his friends has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.
On Tuesday, 45-year-old Rickey Lee Miller, Jr. was sentenced by Judge Thomas P. Barber to 15 years of imprisonment, which will be followed by a life term of supervised release. Miller pleaded guilty to the enticement charge on September 6, 2024.
According to court records, on July 27, 2024, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office detective posed as a 15-year-old girl on an unspecified online messaging platform during the agency’s undercover operation, which was dubbed “Operation Summertime Blues.”
Miller contacted the undercover detective’s account and initially asked if the 15-year-old girl wanted to “hang out.” His conversation with the detective then proceeded to become “sexually explicit,” and he asked if the detective was interested in “having some fun” with him and a female friend.
During that conversation, Miller asked, “[W]ill you tell my friend your 18[?] I really don’t want her to know your real age.”
Miller agreed to bring his friend to meet the undercover detective posing as the 15-year-old girl for sex. When Miller arrived at a predetermined meeting spot in Marion County, he was met by law enforcement officers and placed under arrest.
A cellphone was found In Miller’s vehicle, which was confirmed to be the same device used to communicate with the undercover detective.
This case was investigated by multiple law enforcement agencies including the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Ocala Police Department, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Chiefland Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.
Additionally, 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.