Amusement Park Employee Sentenced To 20 Years For Attempting To Entice A Child For Sex

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge James D. Whittemore has sentenced Frederick M. Pohl, Jr. (41, Clermont) to 20 years in federal prison for attempting to entice a child for sex. Pohl had pleaded guilty to this offense on August 6, 2019.       

According to court records, Pohl engaged in a series of online chat communications to arrange a sexual encounter with an 8-year-old girl. Pohl believed he was chatting with the child, and her father, but was actually communicating with an undercover federal agent in Detroit. Pohl sent lewd photos of himself and agreed to meet with the 8-year-old child at an Orlando hotel. When Pohl arrived at the hotel, he was arrested by federal agents from Detroit and Orlando. Pohl was found to be in possession of condoms and a pink dress suitable for a young child to wear.

At the time of his arrest, Pohl had been working at an Orlando amusement park where he was responsible for securing the lap bars on rides for children and adults. He was immediately terminated from that position following his arrest. The amusement park was fully cooperative with law enforcement during their investigation and there were no known instances of misconduct while Pohl was working there.

“Thanks to HSI special agents in Detroit and Orlando and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, this child predator has been stopped and he will be held accountable for his crimes,” said HSI Orlando Assistant Special Agent in Charge David J. Pezzutti.         

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Felicetta.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.