Kevin John Merritt, 63, of Jacksonville, has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for coercing and using a minor child to produce videos and photos depicting sexual abuse. The sentence was handed down by Chief United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard. Merritt was arrested on March 16, 2023, and has remained in custody since then. He pleaded guilty on November 7, 2024. Merritt is already a registered child sex offender due to a prior federal conviction in 2011 for possessing videos showing the sexual abuse of children.
The investigation began after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a report from Facebook’s parent company about files containing child sexual abuse material being sent through Facebook Messenger on September 14, 2022. The files were sent by a user named “Jackie Frost” to another Facebook user in Jacksonville. The report was forwarded to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO), which identified Merritt as the individual behind the “Jackie Frost” account. At that time, Merritt was serving a 30-year supervised release term related to his earlier conviction.
On March 16, 2023, JSO detectives executed a search warrant at Merritt’s residence and arrested him at the scene. Investigators seized several electronic devices, including Merritt’s cellphone. A review of this device uncovered an email account linked to the “Jackie Frost” Facebook profile and other evidence connecting it to Merritt. Authorities also found numerous photos and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of an identified minor child that had been produced by Merritt using his cellphone; his hand is visible in two of these videos.
The case was investigated by both the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jacksonville. Prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys D. Rodney Brown and Elisibeth Adams.
“This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse,” according to officials. “Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify, rescue, and seek justice for child victims.” More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
