Lake City, FL – A 25-year-old Ocala man was arrested Wednesday night after driving to Lake City with the intent to engage in sexual activity with a child he believed to be 14 years old, according to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
Horatio Levon Carrie, born July 6, 2000, of 1642 SW 6th Street, Ocala, FL 34771, was taken into custody around 9:30 p.m. on March 4, 2026, at a prearranged meeting location in Columbia County.
For approximately one week prior, Carrie had been communicating via social media with a specially trained detective from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, who was posing undercover as a 14-year-old girl. During those conversations, Carrie expressed his intent to travel from Ocala to Lake City to have sex with the minor, sent pornographic images to the undercover account, and began grooming the “child” by discussing plans to live together once she turned 18.
Based on his statements and travel arrangements, investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Carrie. The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office coordinated with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to confirm his mode of travel and departure from Ocala. When Carrie arrived in the agreed-upon vehicle, members of the CCSO Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force, Criminal Investigations Division, and patrol officers immediately took him into custody without incident.
Carrie was booked into the Columbia County Detention Facility with an initial bond set at $400,000. This morning, due to processing through the state criminal justice system, he was also found to be in violation of active probation from a fleeing and eluding law enforcement charge out of Hernando County. He is currently being held with no bond.
Carrie faces the following felony charges:
- Travel to meet after using a computer to lure a child (F.S.S. 847.0135(4)(a))
- Transmit obscene material to minor (F.S.S. 847.0133(1))
- Use 2-way communication device to facilitate a felony (F.S.S. 934.215)
- Transmit info harmful to minors (F.S.S. 847.0138(2))
- Use computer to seduce/lure child (F.S.S. 847.0135(3)(a))
- Violation of probation (F.S.S. 948.06)
“The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office remains focused on preventing the solicitation of minors in our community and beyond,” officials stated. “We also remind parents and guardians to help keep your children safe by actively monitoring their social media and device accounts—especially the ones you may not yet know about. Those hidden accounts are frequently used to lure and entice children.”
The Sheriff’s Office thanked the Marion County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in verifying Carrie’s travel and contributing to his successful apprehension.
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