Tampa Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Enticement of a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity

Tampa, Florida - Johan Smith Pavon Mejia (43, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. He faces a minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. Mejia's sentencing hearing is set for October 15, 2026. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

According to the plea agreement, in April 2025, Mejia communicated online with an undercover detective from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and arranged to meet a fictitious minor to engage in sexual activity. Mejia traveled to an agreed upon location to meet the "minor" and arrived with items requested by the undercover detective, including candy, iced tea, and money to pay for the arranged sexual acts.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilyssa M. Spergel.

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.