Man on probation charged with arranging to meet juvenile for sex and possessing child pornography

Staff report

WARNING: The information below may disturb some readers.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Justin Lee Ethridge, 39, has been charged with arranging to meet a minor for sex and possessing child pornography.

On July 30, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Detective engaged in an online conversation with an individual who was later identified as Ethridge; the undercover detective’s persona was a 15-year-old male, and Ethridge reportedly acknowledged in the chat that the other person was underage, but he continued to chat and allegedly sent two explicit photos of his genitals to the other account.

The chat was on a platform that shows the location of both people, and at one point, Ethridge allegedly said he wanted to “come over” to the juvenile’s location; about 15 minutes later, Ethridge allegedly arranged to meet the other person at a gas station, believing the person he was chatting with was 15 years old. However, Ethridge stopped responding to communications at that point, and almost three hours later, he allegedly offered to pay for an Uber for the juvenile to come to him, but the detective declined.

The detective reported that the location shown on the app for Ethridge was his listed address, and the profile picture for the account showed his face.

Ethridge was arrested on August 1 and charged with sending harmful material to a minor, engaging in explicit communication with a minor, and using a computer to solicit a minor for sex.

A warrant to search his phone was obtained, and when a deputy began the extraction process, he reportedly came across several images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). He stopped searching the device and obtained an amended warrant for a more extensive search of the phone.

The deputy reported finding 77 files of CSAM and 85 files of images that would be classified as child-exploitative or showing a subject whose age is difficult to determine.

Several of the videos reportedly showed an infant or toddler being raped or sexually touched by an adult. A screenshot from one video, showing a nude female child in a sexual pose in a shower, was reportedly used as the wallpaper on Ethridge’s phone.

Ethridge has now been charged with 12 counts of possession of child pornography.

Ethridge, a designated violent felony offender of special concern, has two felony convictions (one violent) and one misdemeanor conviction (non-violent) and is on probation for battery on a person over the age of 65. Judge James Colaw ordered him held without bail on the initial charges, and Judge Meshon Rawls added $600,000 bail for the child pornography charges.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.