Ohio man tried to lure underage girl to Key West Holiday Parade for sex meetup, cops say

Anthony Rozzo (MCSO)

KEY WEST, Fla. — An out-of-state visitor is facing two felony charges in the Florida Keys after deputies said he was busted in an undercover sting trying to arrange a sexual meetup with an underage girl.

Deputies with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said that Anthony Peter Rozzo, 33, of Avon, Ohio, tried to lure a girl to a Christmas parade through a chat application, but was instead talking to an FBI agent.

Authorities said Rozzo, claiming to be 29, messaged who he thought was the underage girl on Friday night.

Investigators said he initially said he would not meet up with her because of her age and “went as far as to provide another application where she could find kids her own age,” but then asked her “if she wanted to go to Taco Bell or Sonic” and asked to send photos of herself.

An MCSO arrest report states that after midnight, Rozzo said, “lets hook up” and later described sexual acts he wished to perform with the child and asked her to “send him nude photographs so he would know she’s not the cops.”

“Anthony then asked the child if (she) wanted to ‘go all the way’ with him and stated he would bring a condom,” the report states.

Authorities said he then tried to lure the undercover decoy to meet at the Key West Holiday Parade on Duval Street.

According to the report, MCSO detectives went to Saturday night’s parade and had Rozzo send “constant pictures” to identify his location. Deputies said they saw him texting and sending photos and took him into custody.

Deputies said Rozzo admitted to messaging who he thought was an underage girl and to sending messages detailing sex acts he wished to perform on her.

“Anthony admitted to trying to lure the child, but stated he wasn’t going to follow through with the meet,” the report states.

Deputies arrested Rozzo on charges of child solicitation and unlawful use of a communications device.

Rozzo was not listed in MCSO jail records as of Monday morning.

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About The Author
Chris Gothner

Chris Gothner

Chris Gothner joined the Local 10 News team in 2022 as a Digital Journalist.