JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for producing child sexual abuse material, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Officials said Kevin John Merritt, 63, pleaded guilty last year to coercing and using a minor child to produce videos and photos that depicted the child being sexually abused.
Merritt was already a registered child sex offender following his 2011 federal conviction for possessing videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.
According to court documents, this investigation began when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a “CyberTipline Report” from the company that owns Facebook.
This report advised that files depicting child sexual abuse materials had been sent through Facebook Messenger on Sept. 14, 2022, by user “Jackie Frost” to another Facebook user in Jacksonville.
This report was forwarded to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, according to officials.
JSO’s investigation identified Merritt as “Jackie Frost.”
At the time, Merritt was serving a 30-year term of supervised release as part of his prior child sex conviction.
On March 16, 2023, JSO detectives and other personnel executed a search warrant at Merritt’s residence. Merritt was at the home and was arrested.
During the search warrant, several electronic devices were seized, including a cellphone belonging to Merritt. Review of the cellphone revealed an email account that was linked to the “Jackie Frost” Facebook account, as well as other items attributable to Merritt.
Officials said the cellphone also had many photos and videos depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of an identified minor child that were produced by Merritt using his cellphone. His hand is visible in two of the videos.
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jacksonville. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys D. Rodney Brown and Elisibeth Adams.
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