An Ocklawaha man who was arrested over the summer during a multi-agency online child sex sting operation will spend the next decade behind bars.
Clayton Lee Harris, 22, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber to 10 years in federal prison for attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.
U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced the sentence following Harris’s guilty plea, which was entered on November 13, 2025.
The charges stem from a joint operation dubbed “Seek and Ye Shall Find,” which was conducted by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) and Homeland Security Investigations last July.
According to MCSO, undercover law enforcement officers contacted dozens of men during the operation. In each instance, the undercover officers posed as teens between the ages of 13 and 15.
On July 26, 2025, Harris contacted one of the undercover officers on an online dating website who was portraying a 14-year-old girl. During their online conversations, Harris asked to meet the individual for a sexual encounter after learning her age.
Investigators previously noted that these conversations turned sexual quickly, with Harris sending an explicit video of himself to the officer and agreeing to meet at a local gas station while bringing condoms.
When Harris arrived at the designated meeting location, he was immediately apprehended by law enforcement. A subsequent search of his vehicle uncovered recently purchased condoms.
Harris was released on bond on July 31, 2025 and was arrested again on August 27, 2025. He has been incarcerated ever since.
Harris’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk Watson as part of Project Safe Childhood, which was launched in 2006.