A former UPMC Children’s Hospital doctor was arrested in an undercover child sex sting in Florida, authorities said.
The Florida attorney general said that 38-year-old Mohamed Mesregah was one of six people arrested during an operation targeting predators who were sexually exploiting children online.
A spokesperson for UPMC confirmed Mesregah’s employment had been terminated but offered no other details.
Investigators said officers posed as 14-year-old girls on an online escort website. All six people arrested were told they were talking to underage girls, yet they “engaged in sexually explicit and harmful communications,” prosecutors said.
Mesregah was charged with using a computer to seduce, solicit, lure or entice a child; traveling to meet after using a computer to lure a child; and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.
“These predators believed that they could hide behind a screen to exploit our children—they were wrong,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a news release.
The operation was a joint effort between several law enforcement agencies, including the attorney general’s office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Department of State, Homeland Security Investigations and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
“This operation is a powerful example of what can be accomplished when local, state, and federal partners come together with one shared mission—to protect our children,” Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said in a news release. “These arrests should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks they can prey on children in our communities. We will find you, we will arrest you, and we will hold you accountable.”
