Lehigh Acres Man Pleads Guilty To Attempting To Engage In Sexual Activity With A Minor

Fort Myers, Florida - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Cosme Bejaran (34, Lehigh Acres) today pleaded guilty to attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and attempted transfer of obscene matter to a minor. Bejaran faces a minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, beginning on May 17 and continuing through May 18, 2024, Bejaran communicated with an undercover law enforcement officer, who was posing as a 14-year-old girl. After learning of the girl's age, Bejaran engaged in a sexually explicit conversation, asked the girl for explicit photographs, and sent an explicit photo of himself. Bejaran was apprehended by deputies from the Lee County Sheriff's Office when he arrived at a residence with the intention of engaging in sexual activity with the girl. Bejaran later admitted to deputies and the FBI that his intentions with the girl were sexual.

This case was investigated by the Lee County Sheriff's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Morgan.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.