Former Texas Detective Pleads Guilty to Five Counts of Attempted Transfer of Obscene ...

Tallahassee, Florida – John Frederick Black, 46, of Houston, Texas, pleaded guilty to five counts of attempted transfer of obscene material to minors. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the guilty plea.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “I truly appreciate the dedication of our state and federal law enforcement partners to target, identify, and incapacitate the sexual predators, like this defendant, seeking to sexually exploit and victimize kids online. My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting those sick individuals to ensure they are locked away behind federal bars where they belong.”

Court records reflect that in January 2026, detectives with the Leon County Sheriff’s Office participated in an undercover operation in Tallahassee focused on identifying adults who used the internet to sexually exploit children. During the operation, the defendant contacted the undercover officer, who he believed to be a 13-year-old child, and engaged in sexually explicit conversation. The defendant also sent obscene photographs and videos of himself. The investigation revealed that the defendant resided in Texas and was employed as a police detective with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office in Houston, Texas.

Black will be sentenced in federal court before United States District Judge Robert L. Hinkle in Tallahassee, Florida, on December 3, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.

Black faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment on each count.

The case involved an joint investigation by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christie S. Utt.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC .

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit .

United States Attorney’s Office Northern District of Florida [email protected] X: @USAO_NDFL