Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Thursday that six men—including multiple foreign nationals—were arrested and charged with sexually exploiting children after a multi-agency undercover operation targeting online predators.
Investigators posed as 14-year-old girls on an online escort website. According to officials, all six men knowingly communicated with someone they believed to be a minor and were arrested after traveling to a predetermined meeting location for sexual activity.
Attorney General Uthmeier condemned the suspects’ actions, stating, “These predators believed they could hide behind a screen to exploit our children—they were wrong. Several of these defendants are now on ICE detainers and will face prison before deportation. We will never stop protecting kids in Florida; those who target them will be caught and punished.”
Arrested Suspects and Charges
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Isaias Chaman Coy, 40 (Guatemala):
Use of a computer to seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child; travel to meet after using a computer to lure a child. -
David Desormeaux, 39 (Canada):
Use of a computer to seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child; travel to meet after using a computer to lure a child; use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony. -
Miguel Angel, 34:
Use of a computer to seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child; travel to meet after using a computer to lure a child. -
Antonio Frederico Perez Rojas, 22 (Guatemala):
Use of a computer to seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child; travel to meet after using a computer to lure a child; use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony. -
Mohamed Kamal Mesregah, 38 (Egypt):
Use of a computer to seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child; travel to meet after using a computer to lure a child; use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony. -
Jeremiah Jamel Gillyard, 34:
Use of a computer to seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child; travel to meet after using a computer to lure a child; use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.
State Attorney Thomas Bakkedahl, of Florida’s 19th Judicial Circuit, warned that the suspects targeted the wrong jurisdiction: “These men will soon come to realize that they traveled to the wrong county in the wrong circuit.”
Operation Involved Multiple Agencies
The coordinated sting included:
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Florida Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution
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Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)
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Martin County Sheriff’s Office
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Stuart Police Department
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U.S. Department of State
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Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek praised the joint effort: “This operation shows what can be accomplished when local, state, and federal partners unite with one mission—to protect our children. These arrests should warn anyone who thinks they can prey on children in our communities: we will find you, arrest you, and hold you accountable.”
FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass added, “Those who target or harm children have no place in our communities. We will find them and bring them to justice.”
The cases will be prosecuted collaboratively by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, the 19th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
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