MIAMI — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Florida, Southern), published as received.
MIAMI – An Arizona man was sentenced Thursday in Fort Pierce to 40 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting a minor online and traveling to Florida, where he sexually abused the victim.
U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon sentenced Joshua Black, 38, to 480 months in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to production of material involving sexual exploitation of minors and transporting material involving sexual exploitation of minors.
“This defendant used the internet to target a 13-year-old child, manipulate her into sexual exploitation, and preserve those images for his own gratification,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “He then crossed state lines to continue that abuse in person. Production of child sexual abuse material is among the most serious crimes we prosecute because it permanently records a child’s victimization. Forty years in federal prison ensures accountability and protects other children from future harm.”
According to court records, Black sexually abused a minor victim between 2023 to 2025, when she was between 13 and 15 years old. During that time, Black took screenshots of the victim engaging in sexually explicit conduct during a video call with him. Black later transported those images to Indian River County, where he traveled to meet the victim and engage in sexual activity with her at a Vero Beach hotel.
U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones and Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
FBI Miami, Fort Pierce Resident Agency, investigated the case, with assistance from the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Kahn Obenauf and Justin Hoover prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Anyone with information relating to child sexual exploitation or abuse is encouraged to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 25-cr-14016.
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