A 24-year-old Gujarati man has pleaded guilty to ‘attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity’, the US Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida, announced on Thursday.
Kirtan Patel who was arrested in July, now faces a minimum sentence of 10 years, with the possibility of life imprisonment. The sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.
Patel was one of 33 men of various nationalities apprehended during a comprehensive sting operation led by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), with support from the Ocala Police Department, Chiefland Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
According to officials, Patel allegedly approached an undercover officer posing as a minor online, seeking sexual activity. The Marion County Sheriff’s office reported that during online interactions, Patel engaged in sexually explicit conversations and provided graphic descriptions of sexual acts.
Court documents reveal that between May 22 and 24, Patel knowingly attempted to persuade and coerce an individual he believed to be under 18 years of age to engage in sexual activity. The investigation, conducted jointly by HSI Orlando and the MCSO, culminated in Patel’s arrest on July 18 when he travelled to Marion County to meet the child to engage in sexual activity. Of the 33 men caught in the operation, nine, including Patel, had physically travelled with the intention of having sex with minors.
The MCSO stated that numerous suspects had arranged meetings with individuals they believed to be children aged 13-15 years. Some suspects travelled from outside Florida to meet their intended victims. Law enforcement officials confiscated guns, drugs, cash, and vehicles from the offenders, with additional arrests anticipated as investigations continue.
Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg is prosecuting the case.
The case forms part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat what they term the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project, led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), coordinates federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, whilst identifying and rescuing victims.
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