Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Sexual Battery Against Child
Last week, Felipe Antonio De Jesus Arteaga, 27, was sentenced to eight years in prison for two child sexual battery charges.
On November 19, 2025, Gainesville Police Department officers arrested Arteaga and charged him with two counts of sexual battery against a victim 12-17 years old, four counts of child molestation, two counts of traveling to meet a child for unlawful sexual contact, two counts of soliciting a child to commit an unlawful sex act, one count of human trafficking, and two counts of unlawfully using a two-way communications device.
According to the arrest report, Arteaga solicited the victim using Snapchat, telling her he “wanted to feel someone younger” after learning she was 15. Arteaga drove to the area of the victim’s house and transported her to a different location where he sexually battered her and reportedly committed other acts of sexual abuse.
Two days later, Arteaga went to the area of the victim’s home again. Arteaga drove the victim to McDonalds, where he was later caught on surveillance footage with the victim. From there, Arteaga drove the victim to an unknown location where he sexually battered her and reportedly committed other acts of sexual abuse.
The police report indicates that Arteaga engaged with other uses on Snapchat and emphasized the importance of their "age very early on or immediately upon communicating with the user."
According to the police report, Arteaga was previously arrested in 2014 for sexual battery against a child under 12 years of age. The outcome of the case is unclear.
On December, 31 2025, prosecutors with the Eighth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office (SAO8) formally filed two child sexual battery charges against Arteaga but dropped the other charges.
On July 21, 2026, SAO8 and Arteaga entered into a no-contest plea agreement that was accepted by Judge Susanne Wilson Bullard, in which Arteaga was sentenced to eight years in prison and is required to register as a sex offender for life. As part of the plea deal, SAO8 agreed to drop an additional case Arteaga was facing for a count of aggravated child abuse.
Arteaga currently remains in the Alachua County Jail awaiting transportation to a Florida Department of Corrections facility.
