A British man has been convicted in a U.S. federal court for traveling to the United States to sexually abuse a child he had previously victimized overseas.
U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez found 59-year-old Justin Matthew Ward guilty of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. Ward faces up to 30 years in federal prison, with sentencing scheduled for April 7.
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“Crimes against children are the most vile offenses imaginable,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “This defendant crossed international borders to continue abusing a child he had already victimized overseas. After years of legal challenges, he was extradited to the United States to face justice. Let this be clear: distance, time, and geography will not shield child predators. The Southern District of Florida will relentlessly pursue those who exploit children, no matter where they hide and no matter how long it takes.”
Court records show that Ward befriended a family living in Germany while the parents worked for the U.S. Department of State. While in Germany, he sexually assaulted one of the family’s children, who was under 12. After the family relocated to South Florida, Ward traveled to the U.S. in February 2004 and resumed sexually abusing the same victim.
Ward was arrested in the United Kingdom in December 2012 on unrelated child molestation and child sexual abuse material charges, and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. After completing that sentence, he was extradited to the Southern District of Florida on July 14, 2025, following years of legal challenges.
The case was announced by U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones and FBI Miami Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles. The FBI continues to investigate the matter, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Koontz is prosecuting the case.
This conviction underscores authorities’ commitment to pursuing child predators across international borders, officials said.
