CORAL GABLES, Fla. — A Coral Gables man is facing two federal charges after authorities said he sought to pay who he thought was a 14-year-old boy $300 for sex after first communicating on the app Grindr.
The supposed teenager was actually an undercover FBI agent, according to court documents obtained by Local 10 News on Tuesday.
A federal criminal complaint states that Pavel Acosta Ruano, 38, messaged the undercover agent on Grindr on July 2. While the agent’s fake profile listed the user’s age as 18, the agent quickly told Acosta Ruano that he was 14, it states.
According to the complaint, Acosta Ruano, who went by Paul, had no qualms about the boy’s age and asked him for sex, moving the conversation to WhatsApp soon after.
“I am a good person,” agents said he told the undercover agent. “Trust me.”
They said he later asked, “Are you really 14 years (old)?,” to which the agent replied affirmatively. According to the complaint, Acosta Ruano claimed to be 28.
Authorities said Acosta Ruano offered the agent posing as the teen, who claimed to be visiting Miami with his parents for the World Cup, a rideshare to his home.
According to the complaint, after engaging in a sexual conversation, Acosta Ruano asked the undercover agent if he wanted any money and eventually offered him $200, conditioned upon sex with the teen. As they continued to converse over the following days, agents said Acosta Ruano offered to get the boy a ride to a Publix at 1500 Douglas Road, near his apartment.
According to the complaint, after the agent sent Acosta Ruano a photo of a $279 bicycle, Acosta Ruano offered him $300.
On Friday, agents said Acosta Ruano arranged a meetup. They said he sent a rideshare driver to a McDonald’s at 4999 NW 36th St. in Miami Springs to pick up the supposed teen.
“The (agent) asked the driver ‘for Paul?,’ to which the driver responded, ‘No, Acosta,’” the complaint states.
Authorities said they took Acosta Ruano into custody outside of the Publix just after noon.
He faces charges in Miami federal court of attempted sex trafficking of a minor and attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.
Federal court records didn’t immediately list any upcoming hearings. As of Tuesday, federal jail records show that Acosta Ruano, who agents noted was in the country illegally from Cuba, was being held in the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami.
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