Red Deer man gets 17.5 years in prison for sex offences in Florida

Count 1: 1x attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity
Count 2/3: 2x distribution of child pornography
Count 4: 1x transportation of child pornography
Count 5: 1x possession of child pornography

On the first count, Hjelmeland was sentenced to 150 months, or 12.5 years.

On counts two through five, he was given 60 months, concurrent. The two combine for a consecutive sentence of 210 months, or 17.5 years.

Prior to sentencing, it was reported that the enticement charge had a minimum of 10 years, with the max being life. The distribution and transportation charges carried a 5- to 20-year sentence, and then up to 20 years for possession.

Hjelmeland, now 30, has been recommended to USP Coleman for treatment services; USP Coleman is a federal penitentiary complex in Coleman, Florida.

According to documents provided to rdnewsNOW by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District Florida, upon release, Hjelmeland will be under supervision for ten more years. Among the conditions, he must comply with the requirements of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, and any state sex offender registration agency where he decides to live, work or visit.

Later on in court documents, under conditions of his release at the end of his sentence, it’s noted that the defendant shall have no contact with victims identified in this case, then lists 13 sets of initials.

He also must pay restitution to two parties, in the amount of $10,500.

Per the U.S. Attorney’s Office, in November 2025:

“According to the plea agreement, on December 29, 2024, an Orange County Sheriff’s Office undercover detective posed as the guardian of a 12-year-old fictional child. Hjelmeland engaged in sexually explicit conversation with the undercover detective and made plans to travel from Canada to Orlando, Florida to have sex with the child. During the course of the conversation, Hjelmeland distributed CSAM to the undercover detective. When Hjelmeland was arrested in Orlando, Florida, he possessed CSAM material on his cellular phone that he had transported to the United States involving children who had not attained 12 years of age.”

It’s also been noted in the past that 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 has been 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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by Josh Hall

Red Deer man gets 17.5 years in prison for sex offences in Florida

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