(Marion County, FL) Last week, in the courtroom of the Honorable Judge Timothy T. McCourt, jurors found 28-year-old Malachi Immanuel Stocker guilty after deliberating for less than half an hour. Stocker was convicted of Traveling to Meet a Minor, Soliciting a Child for Unlawful Sexual Conduct, and Unlawful Use of a Two-way Device. He is set to be sentenced at a later time.

Stocker was originally arrested in July of 2024, following a Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) undercover online operation to target suspects who use the internet to sexually exploit children with the intention of meeting the juveniles.

During the undercover operation, MCSO Detective Terry posed as a 14-year-old male child on an online account. Stocker messaged the decoy user and after being informed of the minor’s age, engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the child.

Stocker would later request to meet with the child in person to engage in sexual activities. Officials then coordinated a time and location to meet Stocker, where he was promptly arrested.  During an in-custody interview, the defendant admitted to using the online platform to message with a 14-year-old male but denied going to the meeting location to meet the minor.

This case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Shanae Pickens. Thank you to MCSO Detective Terry for developing this lead, as well as Detective Hartigan and Corporal Perry for obtaining crucial evidence used during the trial.

Published on 12/08/2025.