Noel Daniel Simonca of Jacksonville was sentenced on Mar. 24 to 14 years in federal prison for using his cellphone and the internet in an attempt to entice an 11-year-old child into sexual activity, according to U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe. Simonca, age 48, pleaded guilty on October 28, 2025. In addition to his prison sentence, he will serve a ten-year term of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.
The case highlights ongoing efforts by law enforcement agencies to combat child exploitation through online platforms.
Court documents show that on December 10, 2024, an undercover FBI agent in Jacksonville posed as someone with access to an underage child while conducting an operation aimed at identifying adults seeking sexual contact with minors. Using a social messaging app, the agent posted a message in a public chat room and was contacted by someone using the name “mdesase,” later identified as Simonca. He expressed interest in meeting the fictitious child and stated a preference for children aged eight to thirteen.
Further communications between Simonca and the undercover agent included discussions about arranging meetings involving children and exchanging photos of minors. On January 19, 2025, after arranging a meeting location with the undercover agent under false pretenses of meeting both him and the purported child, Simonca was arrested by FBI agents upon arrival.
The investigation also revealed that Simonca had communicated online with another adult outside Florida who sent him photos depicting sexual abuse of a minor; this individual was arrested by authorities in February 2025.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative started by the Department of Justice in 2006—to address increasing incidents of child sexual exploitation and abuse through coordinated federal, state, and local resources.
