Jacksonville Man Arrested in Child Predator Sting
On July 31, just after 12:00 a.m., Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) deputies arrested Ibrahim Cem Kayali, 49, after he was caught in their child predator sting dubbed “Operation Firewall.” Kayali is one of 16 men who ACSO arrested in the sting.
During his time on the Skout and MeetMe apps, Kayali "engaged in conversations with three different" undercover police officers, states the pretrial detention motion.
Kayali sent various sexual messages despite undercover police identifying themselves as 14.
Conversations with two undercover accounts transitioned to a group chat and Kayali traveled from his home in Jacksonville to Alachua County at an agreed upon meeting location where he was apprehended.
Kayali spoke to police in an interview which is summarized by Deputy Anthony Wenk:
"[Kayali] was informed of his constitutional rights via a prepared text. [Kayali] agreed to speak with law enforcement about the incident. [Kayali] believed it was a 'set up' and denied ever discussing his genitals or any sexual topics. He also stated that the girls were changing their age several times from 18 to 16. Both of these things are untrue after I reviewed the chat transcripts. I confronted [Kayali] with the facts of the messages, such as his description of his penis and the sexual acts he wanted to do. [Kayali] stated that I had accurately described his penis and that he did 'enjoy licking butt.' He stated that he does not remember saying those things but did not deny that he said them and that he believes he 'got carried away' because he really wanted a girlfriend. He admitted that the conversation turned sexual after he introduced his sexual desires into the conversation with the girls, after they had said they were 14.”
Kayali faces three counts of online child solicitation, two counts of traveling to meet a minor after online solicitation, and two counts of using a two-way communications device to facilitate a felony. If found guilty, Kayali could be sentenced to over 80 years in prison. The pretrial detention motion was successful and Kayali remains in jail without bond.
