April 14, 2008
Media Contact: Sandi Copes
Phone: (850) 245-0150
Attorney General McCollum Announces Three-Year Prison Sentence for Orlando Internet Child Predator
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that Gabriel Garay, an Orlando man, was sentenced to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to four counts relating to the use of a computer to commit crimes against a minor. Garay was prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution. The case against Garay was part of a sweep for sexual predators conducted by the Polk County Sheriff's Office in March of 2007.
Garay, 32, admitted to contacting a person via the internet who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl and arranging what he hoped would be a sexual encounter. The person receiving his correspondences was actually a Polk County deputy sheriff. When Garay arrived for the scheduled meeting, he was immediately arrested. Evidence presented at the sentencing hearing indicated Garay considered the possibility he was communicating with law enforcement, but he ultimately decided to proceed with his plans by travelling to what he thought was the girl's home. He had previously sent her graphic images of himself.
In pleading to Use of a Computer to Seduce a Child, Attempted Use of a Computer for Child Exploitation, and two counts of Transmitting Material Harmful to Minors, Garay faced up to 20 years in prison. Upon completion of his prison sentence, Garay will be on sex offender probation for a period of two years and will be classified as a sexual offender.