Deltona Man Sentenced To Life In Federal Prison For Sexually Exploiting Children

Jacksonville, Florida – Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Wayne Joseph Cavins (64, Deltona) to life in federal prison for attempted online enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Cavins was also ordered to serve a life term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender. Cavins had pleaded guilty on November 15, 2022.

According to court documents, from December 23, 2020, through January 29, 2021, Cavins attempted to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce a child to engage in sexual activity. Cavins met the child on a social media application and later communicated with the child via text messages. During their text messages, Cavins detailed his interest in engaging in sexual activity with the child, including specifying possible hotel locations for them to meet. In addition, Cavins persuaded and enticed the child to produce child sex abuse materials on several occasions that depicted specific content requested by Cavins. After his arrest, Cavins admitted to talking to the child and that he knew it was wrong. A search of his devices showed Cavins possessed multiple images of child sex abuse materials, including images of the minor child. Further investigation revealed Cavins physically and sexually abused another minor to whom he had access for several years.

“This predator fed his perverse fantasies by sexually abusing a child for years, enticing another minor victim, as well as producing and collecting sexually explicit content of children,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Assistant Special Agent in Charge K. Jim Phillips. “This well-deserved life sentence stands as proof that through law enforcement partnerships with St. Johns County and Clay County Sheriff’s Offices, and all partner agencies on the Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force, law enforcement in northeast Florida will stop at nothing to stop the victimization of our children by these dangerous predators.”      

This case was investigated by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force. The United States Attorney’s Office also extends a special thank you to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance during the sentencing hearing. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.

It is another case 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. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Originally published at https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/deltona-man-sentenced-life-federal-prison-sexually-exploiting-children

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