Roger B. Handberg, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida
U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza has sentenced Chad Allen Pease, 49, of Fort Pierce, to over 22 years in federal prison. Pease was convicted for attempting to entice a minor into sexual activity and committing a felony offense involving a minor while registered as a sex offender. The verdict was reached by a federal jury on November 20, 2024.
The case involved communications that began on February 3, 2024, between Pease and an undercover law enforcement officer (UC), whom Pease believed to be the father of a 13-year-old girl. During these interactions, Pease planned to meet the UC and his "daughter" with intentions of engaging in sexual acts with the child. He traveled 18 miles to the meeting location but fled after conducting counter-surveillance. Law enforcement later identified and arrested him at his home.
Pease's criminal history includes a conviction from 2008 for sending explicit photographs and attempting to meet someone he thought was a young girl for sex, which led to his registration as a sex offender.
"This predator intentionally singled out a child, devised a plan, and executed it with the sole purpose of harming the most vulnerable in our community," said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Orlando Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Pezzutti. "HSI investigators, alongside our partners, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, have successfully removed another predator from the streets."
The investigation was carried out by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, with help from the FBI's Cellular Analysis Survey Team and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution team included Assistant United States Attorney Richard Varadan and Special Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Del Mastro.
