Man Faces New Charges After Having Sex With 15-Year-Old: Sheriff

BRANDON, FL — A 24-year-old Brandon man who was arrested in a recent Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office online sting faces additional charges after detectives discovered he had sex with a girl he met online, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.

The accused, Flor-Adam Brandon Cruz, was one of 22 men arrested during Operation Social Bust. Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office detectives posed as underage girls and boys on social media to locate online sexual predators.

In September, an undercover detective posing as a 15-year-old girl came in contact with Cruz after he initiated a conversation online, authorities said.

Cruz sent explicit text messages describing the sexual acts he wanted to perform on the victim, and said he would help her gain experience with sex, law enforcement officials said.

Cruz was arrested during a traffic stop in Brandon.

After obtaining a search warrant for Cruz’s cellphone, investigators were able to identify the 15-year-old victim with whom he had sex, said the sheriff's office.

According to authorities, Cruz used Uber to bring the girl, who was reported as missing from Pinellas County, to his home to have sex with her on two occasions.

Vulgar videos of Cruz and the victim were found on his cellphone, detectives said.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said in addition to his initial charges for using computer services/devices to solicit certain illegal acts, unlawful use of a two-way communications device, transmission of harmful material to a minor and violation of probation, Cruz will now face charges of:

• Lewd and lascivious battery
• Promotion of a sexual performance by a child
• Interference with child custody
• Traveling to meet a minor after using computer services/devices to solicit certain illegal acts

“It sickens me that this convicted sex offender continued to prey on children even after serving time in prison for his heinous acts,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “Had it not been for the thorough investigative work of our detectives well after Operation Social Bust ended, we would have never known about this juvenile who Cruz was taking advantage of repeatedly. This is exactly why we conduct these undercover chat operations. We want to find these sexual predators lurking online before they find our children."