A former corrections lieutenant was arrested after allegedly attempting to arrange a sexual encounter with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl during an undercover operation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced Monday.
- James Coffman, 26, of Crestview, faces charges of soliciting a child for sex online and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony. At the time of his arrest, Coffman was working as a Corrections Lieutenant in Defuniak.
The arrest stemmed from an undercover internet chat operation conducted by FDLE agents in partnership with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office between November 15-17. During the operation, Coffman allegedly contacted an undercover FDLE agent posing as a father and requested to meet the agent’s fictitious 14-year-old daughter for sex.
On December 5, FDLE agents interviewed Coffman and seized his electronic devices for forensic analysis. He was arrested the same day and booked into the Okaloosa County Jail.
- The case, which remains under active investigation by the FDLE Pensacola cybercrime unit, will be prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney, First Judicial Circuit.
The arrest was part of FDLE’s statewide Internet Crimes Against Children initiative, which partners with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to prevent and combat child sex crimes.
