[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 09/05/20]
MOUNT DORA, Florida — A Jacksonville man being held without bond in the Lake County Jail is accused of traveling from Jacksonville to Mount Dora to engage in sex acts with an 11-year-old girl earlier this summer, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Christian Earl Pruitt, 22, is alleged to have used Instagram to exchange nude photos with the child after seeing a video of her twerking and then engaging in conversations leading up to the sex acts, according to the affidavit.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office began investigating in late June after the victim’s mother was alerted to a video of a sex act posted on social media by the victim and after searching her daughter’s phone, she found multiple videos of the victim and Pruitt, who was 21 at the time, according to the affidavit.
Pruitt coordinated a meetup with the victim through a chat on Instagram and the pair exchanged nude photos, with Pruitt making sexual comments to the little girl as to what he planned to do to her, the affidavit states, and he was aware the girl was just 11 years old. The girl told a forensic interviewer they were both aware of each other’s ages, but Pruitt did not care because he was “in love with her.”
He drove approximately 130 miles one way from Jacksonville to Mount Dora to sneak in a bedroom window at the girl’s grandmother’s house and commit the sex acts that were captured on video. He slept for a couple hours after the acts and then drove home to Jacksonville, the girl told the interviewer.
Pruitt was identified by LCSO through his social media accounts and a warrant was issued for his arrest on June 24 for sexual battery on a victim under 12, traveling to seduce a child for sex acts and production of a sexual performance by a child . He was picked up in Duval County and transferred to Lake County Aug. 26.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. She has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
