Benjamin Hoover, age 44, of Ocala has been sentenced on Apr. 27 to 46 months in federal prison for attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor. U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber handed down the sentence after Hoover pleaded guilty on January 7.
The case centers around an incident that took place on July 23, 2025, when Hoover sent a sexually explicit image of himself to someone he believed was a 15-year-old girl. The recipient was actually an undercover detective with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced the sentencing and said that the investigation was conducted by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg prosecuted the case.
The prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative started in May 2006 by the Department of Justice aimed at addressing child sexual exploitation and abuse cases across the country. Project Safe Childhood brings together federal, state, and local resources to find and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as identify victims.
More information about Project Safe Childhood is available at www.justice.gov/psc.
