Former Navy officer from Virginia Beach sentenced to 17 years in sex trafficking case

A former Navy chief petty officer was sentenced last week to 17 years in prison in a case involved the attempted sex trafficking of a minor.

According to court documents, Daniel Alan Puff, 38, from Virginia Beach, negotiated to receive a sex act from a 13-year-old female, believing he was speaking to her mother. In fact, he was communicating with an undercover law enforcement agent.

The investigation into Puff began on March 29, 2022, when Puff contacted the undercover agent and agreed to pay $60 in exchange for a sex act from what he believed was a 13-year-old female. On March 30, 2022, the agent directed Puff to the meeting location in Chesapeake. Puff arrived at the agreed-upon meeting location in Chesapeake and surveilled the area to check for the presence of law enforcement.

Puff gave $60 to the agent, and stated the sex act he wished to engage in with the child. He was then arrested and taken into custody.

While handcuffed in the back of a police vehicle, he deleted the text application from his phone and falsely claimed to a law enforcement agent that he was attempting to text someone.

Puff was found guilty of four counts by a jury in January.