A Gwinnett County man has been arraigned on federal charges for allegedly using the Internet to entice a 9-year-old girl and distributing pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.
Leonard Nathaniel Peragine Jr., 32, of Lawrenceville responded to an online ad that claimed to offer sex with a child, U.S. Attorney John Horn said in an emailed statement. Instead, the ad was posted as part of an undercover FBI investigation.
“Peragine is accused of shopping online for sex with children,” Horn said. “Such conduct is as dehumanizing as it is dangerous. Predators may feel safe in the anonymity of the internet, but this case shows that we will find these predators and bring them to justice.”
Using an online messenger application, Peragine sent pornographic videos depicting adult men with prepubescent children to the undercover agent, according to prosecutors. He later spoke with who he thought was the child and asked whether she had seen the videos, and whether she wanted to try those activities with him.
Peragine arranged to meet her on Sept. 29 in Suwanee, Horn’s office said. When Peragine showed up for the meeting, he was arrested and searched. Condoms were found in his car, and additional child pornography was located on his cellphone, investigators said.
Peragine was indicted last week. His trial date has not been set.
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