Orlando, Florida - United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury has found Jean Roussel Eloi (30, Palm Bay) guilty of using the Internet to attempt to persuade a minor to engage in sexual conduct. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 17, 2015.
Eloi was indicted on November 5, 2014.
According to testimony presented at trial, on the night of July 20, 2014, Eloi started an online chat session with an 11-year-old female who lived in Palm Bay. The next day, the girl reported the chats to her mother. After the mother contacted law enforcement, an undercover detective began engaging in a series of chats with Eloi, who explicitly detailed the sexual acts he wanted to perform with the “girl." Eloi eventually asked the “girl" to meet him. When he arrived at the prearranged location, deputies arrested him.
This case was investigated by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Palm Bay Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bruce S. Ambrose.
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. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
