Citrus County Man Indicted for Attempting to Meet a 13-Year-Old to Engage in Sexual Activity and Produce Child Sexual Abuse Material

Ocala, Florida - Brian James Verka (39, Beverly Hills) has been charged by indictment with attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and attempted production of child sexual abuse material. If convicted, he faces a minimum prison sentence of 10 years, up to life, on the attempted enticement offense, and a minimum sentence of 15 years, up to 30 years, for the attempted production offense. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

According to court documents, between May 27 and June 2, 2026, Verka communicated online with someone whom he believed was a 13-year-old girl. The minor, however, was an undercover Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agent. During the conversation, Verka described his desire to engage in sexual activity with the minor. Verka also asked the minor to produce sexually explicit images of herself and send them to him.

Verka was arrested on June 2, 2026, when he traveled to a location in Marion County to meet the minor to engage in sexual activity. He is currently detained pending the resolution of the criminal proceedings.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Marion County Sheriff's Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.

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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.