John Jefferson
Jenna Hoffman (Hernando County Sheriff’s Office).
A Florida woman is behind bars after admittedly producing child sexual abuse material involving her own toddler at the request of a complete stranger on the internet, authorities allege.
Jenna Ann Hoffmann, 21, stands accused of one count each of cruelty toward a child by directing or promoting sexual performance, lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim under 12 years of age, possession of sexual performance of a child with intent to promote, use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony and larceny, according to Hernando County Sheriff’s Office records.
When questioned about the incident, the mother allegedly told investigators she agreed to produce the illicit videos in exchange for money that she never received.
On Sept. 23, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office forwarded a “tip” about child sexual abuse material they received “from a popular social media platform” to the arresting agency, according to a press release.
“The digital files depicted a female performing sex acts with a toddler,” the sheriff’s office said.
Within hours, investigators allegedly identified the adult as a resident at an address on Snow Memorial Highway in Brooksville — a small town roughly 80 miles due west of Orlando.
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Detectives who arrived initially made contact with a family member, the sheriff’s office said. After investigators showed the family member a still image from one of the sexual abuse videos, they “immediately identified” the child as Hoffman’s 23-month-old toddler.
“The family member then retrieved Hoffman from the residence,” according to the press release. “Hoffman exited the residence and agreed to speak to detectives.”
After being Mirandized, the defendant allegedly admitted to sexually abusing her child, the sheriff’s office says.
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“Hoffman stated she was speaking with a stranger on social media who advised they would pay her to produce and send sexual videos involving her son,” the press release continues. “Hoffman said she made the videos at her residence and sent them but did not receive payment for the videos.”
Investigators then effectuated a search warrant at the residence and allegedly obtained additional evidence of the defendant’s crimes, according to the sheriff’s office.
Hoffman was subsequently arrested and is now being detained without bond in the Hernando County Detention Center.
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In the event of potential pre-trial release, a judge in Hernando County already issued an order that would keep the defendant on GPS monitoring, court records show.
Court records do not show an attorney of record in the case, but Hoffman filled out an intake form indicating that she has retained a private attorney and will claim indigent status.
She is next slated to appear in court on Oct. 22.
Law&Crime reached out to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office for additional details on this story, but no response was immediately forthcoming at the time of publication.
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