Sergio Lohan, age 24 of Clearwater, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 12 year-old child and using his cell phone to film the incident. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, Lohan and the 12 year-old child victim met online through a social media application. Over time, Lohan engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the child, solicited and received sexually explicit images from the child, and sent the victim a video showing himself masturbating. Within a few months of meeting, Lohan drove to the child’s home, picked the child up in his car, sexually assaulted the child, and video-recorded the assault using his cellphone. Later, Lohan sent this video to the child using the internet.
The FBI, while investigating this offense, executed a search warrant at Lohan’s residence and seized his computer. On that computer, the FBI recovered evidence of Lohan’s sexual abuse and exploitation of this child victim, as well as sexually explicit communications with other individuals identifying themselves as minor children.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the North Port Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Colin McDonell.