PANAMA CITY — A Panama City Beach man accused of several sex crimes has been sentenced to three years in prison for arranging to meet a minor for a sexual encounter, according to court records.
Jakobi Holmes, 36, pleaded no contest Monday to contributing to the delinquency of a minor, using a computer to solicit a sex act from a child and traveling to meet a minor for sexual activity. The charges originate from a 2013 Panama City Beach Police Department investigation. Holmes was sentenced to three years in prison and deemed a sex offender by Circuit Court Judge Elijah Smiley, court records indicated.
PCBPD began investigating Holmes in December 2013 after the mother of a 14-year-old victim came forward with suspicions that Holmes had been in contact with her child. She said Holmes had been exchanging sexually explicit messages with the juvenile via text messages and social media, and PCBPD arranged a sting operation, according to police reports.
An investigator assumed the child’s identity and communicated with Holmes, who offered to perform sex acts on the child, police said. Holmes was arrested when he attempted to meet the child at a local business for the purpose of having sex. He then made incriminating statements during an interview with investigators, according to police.