Florida Man Busted Trying to Meet a Teenage Girl, Blames Stress from Custody Battle
A Florida man was arrested Sep. 19 after allegedly going to a restaurant to meet an underage girl.
According to the Delray Beach Police Department, 52-year-old Jeffrey Alan Mark went to a local Chipotle to meet who he thought was a 15-year-old girl. He had been messaging “her” for three days before the meeting.
To his surprise, he was actually talking to Vitaly Streamers, who run sting operations to catch predators. Throughout the three days, the “minor” allegedly told the 52-year-old man “she” was 15 multiple times.
When cops confronted the shocked Mark, they searched his pockets and seized his cell phone. Mark reportedly told them he made a big mistake and could not get fired from his job.
After the Arrest
After the 52-year-old was detained and brought to jail, he interviewed with detectives. During the conversation, he surprisingly admitted that he knew he was going to meet a 15-year-old.
Mark told the detectives he texted her because he was having a stressful period in his life—he was at risk of losing custody of his daughter. His plan was to meet the 15-year-old to get to know her more, and bring her to his house the next day for a sexual encounter.
During the investigation, investigators uncovered that Mark texted the “minor” with his personal cell phone, and his business phone—which he used for his coffee brand, Sexy Beans Coffee.
The 52-year-old sent nude photos, and texts sexual in nature. He further asked the person he thought was 15-years-old personal questions about her life.
Charges Mark Faces
Jeffrey Alan Mark faces charges of traveling to meet a minor for an unlawful sex act, using a communications device to facilitate a felony, and transmitting material harmful to minors, all of which are felonies.
In Florida, if Mark is found guilty of traveling to meet a minor for an unlawful sex act, he faces a minimum prison sentence of 21 months. At a maximum, he could face up to 15 years in prison. Additionally, the suspect could be subject to 15 years of probation and have to pay fines equaling $10,000.
If convicted of transmitting material harmful to minors or using a communications device for felony purposes, he could face up to five years behind bars.
Online Crimes Against Children
Unfortunately, cases like Mark’s are not uncommon.
Per a report by Childlight, more than a whopping 300 million children annually are victims of “technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse.”
Forms of this abuse include non-consensual sexting, and sexual questions or requests from adults or other minors. Researchers found that America is a “particularly high-risk area” for these types of crimes.
“The world needs to know these atrocities are affecting children in every classroom, in every school, in every country,” Debi Fry, who led the study, shared. “The abuse continues with every view and the failure of taking down this abusive content.”
