ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A convicted sex offender who had been out of prison for approximately two months before attempting to meet someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl has been sentenced to 15 years in prison following an undercover investigation in St. Johns County.
46-year-old Michael Hill received the sentence Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, during a hearing before Circuit Judge Christopher Ferebee. He will also serve five years of sex offender probation following his release and was designated a sexual predator.
Hill entered no contest pleas in August to traveling to meet a minor, attempted lewd or lascivious battery involving a sex act, and tampering with physical evidence.
The charges stemmed from a September 2025 undercover operation conducted by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office targeting individuals using the internet to sexually exploit children.
During the operation, an undercover detective posed as a 14-year-old girl on an online commerce website.
Prosecutors said Hill responded to the fake advertisement by sending sexually explicit direct messages to the person he believed was a minor.
Hill then drove from Clay County to St. Johns County to meet the supposed teenager.
When he arrived and realized he was meeting law enforcement officers instead of a child, Hill attempted to destroy evidence by breaking his cellphone into pieces and setting it on fire, according to prosecutors.
He was arrested at the scene.
The investigation came just months after Hill had been released from prison following a conviction in another undercover child exploitation case.
In January 2025, Hill was convicted of traveling to meet a minor following a similar operation conducted by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
He received an 18-month prison sentence in that case and was designated a sex offender.
According to the State Attorney’s Office, Hill had been out of prison for approximately two months when he committed the offenses that led to his latest conviction.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, and Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Lieb prosecuted it for the State Attorney’s Office of the Seventh Judicial Circuit.