Talil M. Vann, 25, of Casselberry will spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing an 11 year old girl he groomed through Snapchat, then trying to hire a hitman from jail to kill her, the prosecutor, and the lead detective on his case.
Seminole County prosecutors convicted Vann in June on two counts of capital sexual battery on a child under 12 and one count of using a child in a sexual performance. On July 27, Circuit Judge David Dugan sentenced him to two life terms for the sexual battery charges and 15 years for using a child in a sexual performance.
Investigators say Vann used Snapchat in 2024 to pose as a classmate, luring the girl to a parking lot at her Altamonte Springs apartment complex where he recorded himself abusing her. Detectives connected him to the crime through the Snapchat accounts and matching plaid pajama pants the girl had photographed him wearing outside her apartment.
While awaiting trial in 2025, Vann tried to arrange for a fellow inmate’s outside contact to kill the victim, the prosecutor, and the detective, offering his BMW as payment and detailing a plan involving a pipe bomb strapped to a remote-controlled car. The “hitman” turned out to be an undercover Seminole County Sheriff’s deputy after a confidential informant tipped off investigators.
“While no jury verdict can undo the harm inflicted upon the child victim, today’s sentence ensures that the defendant was held accountable and that the community is protected from further harm,” said Assistant State Attorney Domenick Leo.
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