HOLMES COUNTY, Fla. – A registered Florida sex offender is facing numerous new felony charges after investigators alleged he used unreported social media accounts to communicate with minors and distribute sexually explicit material.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced the arrest of 22-year-old Sebastian Christopher Ballensky of Pensacola following an investigation by its Missing Persons and Offender Enforcement Division. Ballesnky’s last address is a halfway house located in the 8400 block of Old Spanish Trai Road in Pensacola (administered by Master’s Touch Ministries).
Ballensky has been charged with two counts of failure to register an internet identifier, three counts of promoting the sexual performance of a child, 10 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material, two counts of using a computer to seduce, solicit, lure or entice a minor to engage in sexual conduct, and three counts of transmitting material harmful to minors.
The investigation began in April when FDLE investigators assisted the Florida Department of Corrections in conducting a compliance interview with Ballensky to determine whether he was following Florida’s sex offender registration requirements. He was convicted of a sex offense in Johnston, North Carolina.
During that investigation, Department of Corrections personnel discovered cocaine hidden inside Ballensky’s residence, resulting in his arrest for violating probation. He was initially booked into the Escambia County Jail before later being transferred to the Holmes County Jail, where his probation sentence had originated.
According to FDLE, investigators later determined that Ballensky had allegedly been using Snapchat accounts that were not reported as required under Florida law to communicate with minors.
Authorities allege Ballensky used the unreported accounts to solicit minors and send them sexually explicit material.
On July 28, FDLE obtained an arrest warrant charging Ballensky with the additional felony offenses while he remained incarcerated in the Holmes County Jail on the probation violation.
FDLE’s Missing Persons and Offender Enforcement Division works with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies throughout Florida to monitor compliance with sex offender registration laws and investigate violations involving registered offenders.
The investigation remains ongoing.