Cedar Key Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Multiple Violations of State’s Sex Offender Registration Requirements

LEVY COUNTY, FL (352today.com) – Jeffrey Lashley, 65, Cedar Key, was arrested on July 1, 2025, for multiple violations of the sexual predator registration requirements. In 1996, Lashley was convicted for lewd and lascivious battery. This conviction designated him a sexual offender in the State of Florida.

In 2004, having been arrested again for sexually based crimes against children, Lashley was again convicted thus designating him a sexual predator. It is based on these convictions and the age of the victim(s) that he was required to register as a sexual offender/predator for life.

Lashley’s newest violations in 2025 were discovered when Detective Cody Weaver performed a sexual predator compliance check at his home in Cedar Key. Detective Weaver identified a smart phone in Lashley’s possession. Detective Weaver knew Lashley had not registered this device.

A search of this phone discovered that Lashley had multiple social media applications installed on the phone. He was also required to disclose any social media sites he subscribed to during his registration. Lashley’s phone was discovered to contain numerous images of child sexual abuse material he later admitted to downloading from the internet. Lashley phone additionally contained recently taken pictures of young juvenile females in bathing suits. It appears these photographs were taken at several public places in our community.

Detectives also seized numerous paper notebooks from Lashley. These contained writings that described explicit stories and or his fantasies of him performing sexual acts on children, both male and female. It appeared he fantasized about children between the ages of four to 10 years old. The evidence and documentation was overwhelming, which would have aided the prosecution team in securing a conviction.

Faced with the reality of the case against him, Lashley entered an open plea on Aug. 27, 2025, to Circuit Judge William Davis, seeking leniency. Judge Davis appropriately sentenced him to a prison term of 30 years in the Florida Department of Corrections.