Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Jacksonville, Florida – Chief U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Andrew Allen Blakney (35, Seattle, WA) to 15 years in federal prison for possession of child sexual abuse images. Blakney pleaded guilty on March 4, 2025.
According to court documents, in October 2024, Blakney, a registered sex offender from Washington, absconded from community control causing an escape warrant to be issued. Blakney traveled by bus to Jacksonville to meet a child he had met online. While in Florida, Blakney engaged in sexual activity with the child. The Florida Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force’s Jacksonville Office located Blakney and arrested him on his outstanding warrants.
Following his arrest, when the child was located with Blakney, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began an investigation into Blakney. A search warrant was obtained for Blakney’s phone revealing that it contained child sexual abuse materials.
This case was investigated by the Florida Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force Jacksonville Office, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the United States Marshals Service, and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 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, 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.