Former Tampa Resident Pleads Guilty to Charges Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of Tampa, Florida pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

Thomas Edward Grossman, 49, pleaded guilty to two counts before United States District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Grossman transported a minor female from Pennsylvania to West Virginia with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Grossman also persuaded a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that conduct and enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. The Court was also advised that the parties agreed as part of the plea agreement that the appropriate sentence in this case is a twenty-year term of imprisonment, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Judge Baxter scheduled sentencing for December 17, 2024, at 1:30 p.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than ten years and not more than life, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, the West Virginia State Police and the Summersville, West Virginia Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Grossman.