Attorney General Jason Miyares has announced that Daniel Ebinger, a 28-year-old from Middlesex County, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for two counts of using a communications system to solicit a minor. The Middlesex County Circuit Court issued the sentence, which will be served consecutively to a previous seven-year sentence Ebinger received in 2022 for possession of child pornography and similar solicitation charges.
In September 2022, authorities at Haynesville Correctional Center were alerted by a New York woman that Ebinger had been sending love letters and making phone calls to her 13-year-old daughter while he was serving his original sentence. An investigation revealed that Ebinger had communicated with at least two minors during his incarceration.
Ebinger admitted to communicating with the minor in New York via social media between 2020 and his incarceration in 2022. He solicited sexually explicit content and proposed sexual activity with the minor during these exchanges.
A search warrant executed at Ebinger’s residence uncovered a cell phone containing evidence of these unlawful communications. Forensic analysis of the device and his social media accounts confirmed the offenses.
Upon release, Ebinger will be required to register as a sex offender, complete sex offender treatment, avoid contact with minors, and refrain from using the Internet unless approved and monitored by his probation officer.
The case was investigated by the Virginia Department of Corrections, the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office, and Attorney General Miyares’ Computer Crimes Section. Assistant Attorney General Cynthia Paoletta prosecuted the case on behalf of the Commonwealth.
