Jacksonville, Florida – Samuel Christopher Templeman (46, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to conspiring to sex traffic a child. His wife, Deborah Lynn Templeman (50, Jacksonville), has pleaded guilty to possession of child sex abuse material. Samuel Templeman faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison, and Deborah Templeman faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreements, in 2018, Samuel Templeman and the child victim began regularly using heroin and crack cocaine together. Also at that time, a pimp began directing the child victim to engage in sex acts in exchange for drugs.
In July 2019, a court terminated the Templemans’ custodial rights over the child victim and ordered them not to have any contact with the child. The child was then placed in foster care, from which the child ran away. In late August 2019, Samuel Templeman received over $25,000 in inheritance, which the Templemans used to entice the child to return to them. By mid-October 2019, the Templemans had spent the entire inheritance, primarily on drugs for Samuel Templeman and the victim.
Thereafter, the only legitimate income for the Templemans and the victim was Deborah Templeman’s bi-weekly salary, which they spent 1-2 days after receipt. During the remaining portions of each month, the Templemans’ only income was derived from their sex trafficking of the child victim for money and the victim’s occasional panhandling. The Templemans spent most of that money on drugs and the rest on living expenses.
On December 11, 2019, a detective from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office went to Deborah Templeman’s place of employment in an attempt to locate the victim. While there, the detective overheard phone conversations in which Samuel Templeman told Deborah Templeman that he was taking the victim to a “date,” a common slang term for an appointment for the child to have sex for money, and that he would then come pick up Deborah Templeman. When Samuel Templeman later arrived at Deborah Templeman’s workplace, authorities arrested him and recovered the child victim.
Pursuant to a search warrant, investigators reviewed Deborah Templeman’s cellphone and found it contained sexually explicit images of the child victim. Deborah Templeman admitted that she knew those images were stored on her phone.
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor and Special Assistant United States Attorney Erin Wolfson.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 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.
Making sure that victims of federal crimes are treated with compassion, fairness and respect.