State corrections officer accused of soliciting 14-year-old in undercover OCSO operation

SHALIMAR — A state corrections officer at the Okaloosa Correctional Institute was arrested Wednesday as a result of an undercover operation in which he allegedly sent sexual messages to an investigator he believed to be a 14-year-old boy.

Jerry Lee Hollingsworth Jr., 44, of DeFuniak Springs, is charged with using a computer to seduce, solicit or lure a child, and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony, according to an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office news release.

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The charges stem from an August 2021 operation conducted by the OCSO’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, numerous search warrants and subpoenas were served to various social media accounts to positively identify Hollingsworth as a suspect. The process was reportedly “time-consuming and caused a delay in the arrest.”

Hollingsworth began chatting with an undercover officer on an online dating application on Aug. 6, 2021, according to his arrest report.

They later began a text conversation in which Hollingsworth allegedly sent a picture to the undercover officer who he thought was a 14-year-old boy. His arrest report detailed further text exchanges in which he reportedly requested to meet for sexual activity.

According to the report, Hollingsworth was employed by the Okaloosa Correctional Institute. His occupation was last updated on July 26, 2022.

He was booked into the Okaloosa County jail on Tuesday and released three days later on a $20,000 bond.