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Pharmacy Tech Guilty of Luring Minor
A federal jury in Jacksonville has found Matthew Bryan Caniff, 33, a former pharmacy technician at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, guilty of attempting to lure a 13-year-old child into engaging in illegal sexual activity.
Caniff, who faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years to life in prison, was convicted on Thursday, April 20, 2017, of attempted online enticement of a minor child, online solicitation of child pornography, and attempted production of child pornography.
According to testimony and evidence presented during the trial, between March 31 and April 1, 2016, Caniff engaged in a series of text conversations with a person he believed to be a 13-year-old child. However, this ‘child’ was actually an undercover FBI agent.
During the online conversations, Caniff discussed his desire to have sex with the ‘child’ in detail and requested explicit images. In the early morning hours of April 1, 2016, Caniff drove to a residence in St. Johns County to meet the ‘child’ for sex, but was arrested by St. Johns County Sheriff’s deputies.
A search of Caniff’s person revealed that he had brought prescription pills taken from UF Health Shands Hospital, which he intended to share with the ‘child’ during their planned sexual encounter.
This case was investigated by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
Caniff’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 26, 2017. This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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