Florida predator caught red handed targeting 13-year-old foster child in ‘sick’ text messages case
Florida – A Florida man has confessed in court that he tried to get a minor to have s*x with him. Jason Shane Ejmali, 51, pleaded guilty to trying to seduce a juvenile. This happened following a number of actions that led to his arrest earlier this year. He could get a life sentence or at least 10 years in prison under federal law.
It all began in late July 2025. Ejmal started talking to someone online from the 24th to the 26th who he felt may help him find a 13- or 14-year-old foster child to have s*x with. He didn’t realize it at the time, but the person on the other end was actually an undercover agent from Homeland Security Investigations. According to the Department of Justice, Ejmali was quite clear in his communications about what he wanted to do s**ually with the child. He even made plans to meet up to make it happen.
Ejmali walked up at the agreed-upon place on the day of the event, assuming he was going to follow through with it. Instead, that’s when the police came and arrested him. The whole thing was a sting operation, so no genuine children were ever in risk. From the beginning, the agents had been careful to keep things under control.
This wasn’t just a random bust. A group from Homeland Security Investigations and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office worked together on the case. They worked hard to gather the proof that led to the charges. Sarah Janette Swartzberg, an Assistant United States Attorney, is in charge of the case. She is making sure that the lawsuit proceeds forward in federal court.
The fact that this tale is part of a nationwide effort to protect youngsters makes it more than simply one arrest. It’s a part of a program called Project Safe Childhood. In May 2006, the Department of Justice started this program to deal with the growing problem of individuals s**ually abusing and exploiting children online or in person. The program brings together folks from federal, state, and local levels to track down these offenders.
The United States Attorneys’ Offices and a specific group in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division dubbed the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section are at the heart of Project Safe Childhood. They are in charge of getting people to work together to discover and arrest people who abuse kids. They also work to completely prosecute them and find victims who need help and get them to safety.
The goal is to build a robust network that stops this kind of crime before it hurts more minors. It has helped with many successful operations over the years, like the one that caught Ejmali. The Justice Department runs a website at www.justice.gov/psc where people can learn more about how it works or become engaged in some way. It has details on the initiative and what they’ve accomplished so far.
Cases like this show how undercover work can make a real difference in keeping communities safe. Ejmali’s guilty plea marks a step toward justice, but it also highlights the ongoing fight against child exploitation. Law enforcement keeps stressing that these threats are out there, and programs like Project Safe Childhood are key to pushing back.
