GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – A man in Rhode Island accused of soliciting sexual abuse images from a Green Cove Springs girl has been booked into Clay County jail, records show.
During a news conference Monday, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said 29-year-old Justin Adkins of West Warwick, Rhode Island, first met his young Green Cove Springs victim on the gaming app Fortnite in 2024.
He said they then moved to communicating on Snapchat and Roblox.
“Parents, people from other states are getting to your kids online and taking advantage of them. It can happen anywhere at any time,” Uthmeier warned.
WATCH: Full news conference below (NOTE: Includes details some might find triggering. Discretion is advised.)
As part of the news conference, Uthmeier held up displays showing what each of the applications involved in the case looks like on a phone icon.
Uthmeier said abusers often prefer Snapchat because the images and text communications can be erased quickly, but said they have plenty of evidence against Adkins from his social media accounts.
“We’ve got thousands and thousands of files associated with this criminal deviant’s Snapchat account. Hundreds and hundreds of images of child sex abuse content, including many with this victim,” Uthmeier said.
He said that investigators learned Adkins used Robux through the app Roblox to buy the girl things and even sent her an iPhone “because he wanted better content in the imagery.”
“That’s how sick this dude was,” Uthmeier said.
He explained that once Adkins realized he might be losing control and wasn’t getting the responsiveness he wanted from the victim, he started making very serious threats.
Hines said a detective from the Green Cove Springs Police Department and an FDLE agent traveled to Rhode Island and helped make the arrest on Feb. 2.
Adkins is facing felony charges of second-degree Using a Child in a Sexual Performance (1 count), third-degree Transmission of Material Harmful to Minor by Electronic Device (1 count), and third-degree Unlawful Possession of Materials Depicting Sexual Performance by a Child (13 counts).
Adkins had his bond hearing on Thursday morning. His next court date was set for March 17.
Uthemeier and the FDLE urged anyone else enduring similar threats to come forward because there are services in place to help, and Florida will prosecute sextortion threats.