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By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

faces four counts

Red Deer man facing child exploitation charges in Florida

Feb 14, 2025 | 2:54 PM

A Red Deer man has been arrested and charged in Florida in relation to alleged child exploitation.

In a release from the United States Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida, it states that James Hjelmeland, 30, of Canada, has been charged with:

• One count of attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity
• Two counts of distributing, one count of transporting
• One count of possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM)

Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) confirmed to rdnewsNOW that Hjelmeland is from Red Deer and that his home was searched on Jan. 24, the same day he was arrested.

If convicted, the Attorney’s Office notes, Hjelmeland faces a minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison for the attempted offense; a minimum of five years, up to 20 years, in federal prison for each distribution and transportation offense; and up to 20 years in federal prison for the possession offense.

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According to court documents, it was Dec. 29, 2024, when an undercover detective with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office posed as the guardian of a 12-year-old.

Hjelmeland is said to have messaged the undercover detective and inquired about the age of the “child.”

It’s alleged he then engaged in sexually explicit conversation with the undercover detective and made plans to travel from Canada to Orlando to have sex with the “child.”

During the conversation, it’s said, Hjelmeland distributed CSAM to the detective; furthermore, when he was arrested in Orlando on Jan. 24, there was, allegedly, CSAM material on his mobile device involving children under the age of 12.

Per the Attorney’s Office, an indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, United States Customs and Border Patrol, and the Southern Alberta Internet Child Exploitation Team (part of ALERT). It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kaley Austin-Aronson.

Additionally, it’s noted this case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the American Department of Justice, “to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.”

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