The case stems from Wallace’s arrest in 2023 when he was caught with a missing child from Jacksonville, Florida. The Justice Department revealed this development on Friday, underscoring the severity of the crime and the resulting legal consequences.

Wallace, who pleaded guilty to the charges on August 26, 2025, will also face 25 years of supervised release following his prison term and is mandated to register as a sexual offender, according to a Department of Justice statement.

The incident that led to Wallace’s arrest occurred on November 2, 2023. Jacksonville sheriff’s officers, responding to a report of a missing 12-year-old girl, found her at a Greyhound bus station with Wallace. He had secured bus tickets for both himself and the child for a trip to California. His arrest ensured the child’s safe return to her mother, as confirmed by the DOJ.

According to court documents, on Nov. 2, 2023, Jacksonville sheriff’s officers responded to a Greyhound bus station to investigate a missing 12-year-old girl.

The DOJ says officers located the girl with Wallace, who had purchased a bus ticket to California for himself and the child. Wallace was arrested, while the child was reunited with her mother, according to the DOJ.

A search of Wallace’s electronic devices revealed that he and the missing girl had began talking on social media when the girl was 10 years old.

“Wallace’s cellphone contained videos of the child engaging in sexually explicit conduct,” the DOJ said in its release. “There were also numerous videos and images found on Wallace’s devices containing children engaging in sexually explicit conduct.”

“The exploitation of children leaves scars that last a lifetime—including invisible scars not only for the victims, but for their families and communities,” said Homeland Security Investigations Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge Tim Hemker. “Wallace’s actions were calculated, predatory, and deeply destructive. His calculated attempt to flee across state lines with a minor victim—boarding a bus bound for California—shows the lengths predators will go to evade justice and continue their abuse. Child exploitation is not a crime that ends when the abuse stops; it inflicts lifelong trauma on victims and their families. HSI and our INTERCEPT Task Force partners will remain relentless in our pursuit of justice for victims.”