NEWS RELEASE
CASE UPDATE: Palm Coast Man Sentenced in Child Exploitation and Narcotics Cases
Date:Thursday, August 6, 2026
Eric Hoover Jr., 31, of Palm Coast, who was arrested by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office twice in 2025 following a narcotics-related investigation and a subsequent child exploitation investigation, has been convicted and sentenced.
On Aug. 5, Hoover pleaded guilty to 10 counts of possession of sexual performance by a child and pleaded no contest to possession of cocaine with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. Following both pleas, Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols sentenced him to eight years in prison for the child sexual abuse material charges and five years in prison for the narcotics charges. The sentences will be served concurrently with each other, meaning a maximum sentence of eight years. He will also be required to register as a sex offender and will be on sex offender probation for five years after his release from prison.
“These cases were the definition of a team effort, as it started with a narcotics investigation by our Special Investigations Unit, which led to an arrest by our Problem Area Crime Enforcement Unit, then another investigation and arrest by our Cyber Crimes Unit and the Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force after detectives found child sexual abuse material on his phone,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “I commend everyone involved in both of these investigations and thank the prosecution for making sure this offender got the prison time he deserved for both trying to peddle poison in our community and exploiting children.”
Hoover is being held at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility awaiting transfer to Florida Department of Corrections custody.