FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: David Chapman
Phone: (904) 255-3004
Cell: (904) 524-6626
ChapmanD@coj.net
February 1, 2024
DUVAL COUNTY JURY FINDS IHEDIOHA GUILTY OF SEX CRIMES AGAINST A MINOR
State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that a Duval County jury found Uchechi Ihedioha guilty of four counts of Lewd or Lascivious Molestation and two counts of Sexual Battery against a minor victim. With the verdict, Ihedioha faces up to life in Florida State Prison. The Honorable Mark Borello will sentence Ihedioha at a later date.
The investigation into Ihedioha began in November 2021 when a schoolteacher alerted authorities after the victim disclosed years of sexual abuse. The investigation revealed Ihedioha committed several acts against the victim between May 2016 and October 2021, a time period that spanned much of the victim’s adolescent years. Ihedioha had access to the victim through a familial relationship. He began sexually abusing the victim in 2016 by molesting her as she tried to sleep. Over the ensuing years, he committed several acts of sexual battery when the two were alone.
The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Catie Messinger and Jennie Edwards.