Former Florida instructor conspired with man to produce and distribute sexually explicit material, faces up to 30 years in federal prison
PENSACOLA, Fla. — A former gymnastics coach and social media content creator from Navarre, Florida, has pleaded guilty to federal charges that she conspired with another man to produce and sell images and videos of minor children engaged in sexually explicit conduct — a scheme that netted her hundreds of thousands of dollars over two years, prosecutors announced Monday.
Theresa Mitchell, 44, entered guilty pleas in federal court to one count of conspiracy to produce and distribute child pornography, two counts of production of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. She faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison on the production and conspiracy counts, plus up to 20 years on the receipt, possession, and money laundering charges.
According to court documents, between 2023 and 2025, Mitchell conspired with Christopher Buckeridge to produce and sell illicit images of minors. Mitchell sold and distributed the material to customers through social media platforms, messaging applications, and subscription-based websites. Buckeridge, in turn, sent Mitchell hundreds of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of minors, including material showing sadistic abuse of prepubescent children.
The scheme came to an end when a federal magistrate judge issued arrest warrants for both Mitchell and Buckeridge on March 17. Mitchell was apprehended by federal agents in central Pennsylvania on March 19 and has remained in custody since.
If convicted at sentencing, Mitchell will be required to pay restitution to her victims and register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 14 before a U.S. district judge, who will determine the final penalty after considering federal sentencing guidelines.
Beatings, Starvation, and a Child as Leverage: South Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Brutal Sex Trafficking Conspiracy in Massachusetts
Trafficker continued directing operation from jail after arrest, using threats of authorities taking victim’s child to maintain control
BOSTON — A South Carolina man pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges that he and his co-conspirators used physical beatings, sleep deprivation, starvation, threats, and even the threat of losing custody of her child to coerce a woman into repeated commercial sex acts in and around Fall River, Massachusetts — and he continued directing the operation from behind bars after his arrest.
Alexander Smalls, 27, of Beaufort, South Carolina, entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking in federal court. He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison at his sentencing scheduled for Dec. 9.
According to court documents, between January and August 2023, Smalls conspired with co-defendant Christy Parker, 28, and others to force and coerce at least one adult victim into engaging in repeated commercial sex acts. The traffickers employed a litany of cruel tactics: physical beatings, threats, intimidation, sleep deprivation, and starvation. They also imposed manufactured debts on the victim and deliberately gave and withheld alcohol in a pattern that caused the woman to experience seizures.
Most chillingly, Smalls and Parker threatened to have authorities take the victim’s minor child away from her — using the ultimate fear of a mother to maintain control.
When Smalls was incarcerated on unrelated charges in March 2023, the conspiracy did not stop. He continued coordinating with Parker and participating in the trafficking operation from jail, directing activities until Parker’s arrest in August 2023.
“This defendant used deplorable means to compel the victim to perform commercial sex acts for the financial benefit of himself and his codefendants,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “His conduct was cruel and predatory in multiple ways, which included physical beatings and threatening to separate her from her child.”
Five of Smalls’s co-defendants have already been convicted. Tyreik Reid, 22, and Cory Primo, 44, were convicted of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and each sentenced to 70 months in prison. Avvani Jeffers, 24, was convicted of two counts of forced labor and sentenced to 18 months. Tre’sean Reid, 23, was convicted of one count of forced labor and sentenced to time served. Parker pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and one count of sex trafficking of a minor. She awaits sentencing.
Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Grimming of HSI New England emphasized the resilience of survivors: “Smalls and his associates brutally trafficked women, using every cruel and inhumane tool they could to coerce them into commercial sex for their financial benefit. … With cases like this, we choose to focus not solely on the cruelty of the perpetrators, but also on the resilience of the survivors.”
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