Man Sentenced For Traveling To Meet Minor For Sex In Sarasota Area After Sting: Brodsky

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — A Sarasota County man was sentenced to 10 years in state prison after entering an open plea to the charges of attempted lewd and lascivious battery and traveling to meet a minor to engage in sex, according to a news release from State Attorney Ed Brodsky.

Douglas Mutschler also faces five years of sexual offender probation, which will require him to wear a GPS monitor, when he’s released from prison. He was also designated a sexual offender and will have to register as one for the rest of his life, Brodsky said.

He faced a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison.

Mutschler’s charges came out of a traveler sting operation organized by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office in the summer of 2019. At the time he was charged, he was on felony probation out of Seminole County for child abuse, a charge that stemmed from him engaging in sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old girl.

In this recent case, Mutschler targeted a 14-year-old girl, who he believed to be home alone, the state attorney said. After expressing his plans to have sex with her, he arrived at her home on July 18, 2019 with condoms in his front pocket, Brodsky said. He was immediately taken into custody.

“The internet can be a very scary place for children in our community. Law enforcement's dedication to ensuring the safety of our children by designed operations, such as this one, make Sarasota a much safer place for all of us,” said Assistant State Attorney Kate Metz, the lead prosecutor in the case.