Tallahassee, Florida – Raymond Lewis Shiver, 36, of Crawfordville, Florida, was found guilty by a federal jury of attempting to entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity. The verdict was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. U.S.
Attorney Heekin said: “Thanks to the excellent investigative work by our state and federal law enforcement partners, my office was able to deliver a successful prosecution to ensure this defendant will be held accountable for his attempts to sexually exploit a child. My office remains committed to aggressively prosecuting these horrific crimes to do everything in our power to keep our kids safe, both in our communities and online.”Trial testimony demonstrated that from April 10-12, 2025, federal, state, and local law enforcement executed an undercover online chat operation designed to catch individuals who use the internet to sexually exploit children. During the operation, several fictitious ads were posted by law enforcement on websites commonly used for prostitution, and the defendant responded to one of the ads. In his text messaging with an undercover law enforcement officer who was posing as a 15-year-old child, the defendant expressed interest in engaging in sexual activity with the child in exchange for money.
The defendant then traveled to meet the child and was arrested by law enforcement. Search of the defendant’s phone confirmed that he was the person communicating with the undercover officer through text messaging and phone calls.Shiver faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum of life imprisonment. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.The case involved a joint investigation by the Tallahassee Police Department, Leon County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph A.
Ravelo and Meredith L. Steer.Sentencing is scheduled for September 28, 2026, at 10:00 am at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before United States District Judge Robert L. Hinkle.This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing 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, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit theU.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website.
For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.