An Italian national residing in Miami has admitted guilt in a federal court for his involvement in international child exploitation. Marco Pagano, 41, confessed to using social media and financial incentives to coerce minors, including four girls from the United Kingdom aged between 14 and 16, into producing sexually explicit content.
During proceedings at the Southern District of Florida, Pagano acknowledged engaging in illegal online activities with minors from March 2023 to April 2024. He utilized online payment systems over 180 times to transfer thousands of dollars from the United States to these minors abroad. In return, he demanded pornographic images and videos be sent to him via a social media platform. These included recordings of the minor girls performing sexual acts on each other.
Pagano's sentencing is scheduled for June 9 at 9:00 a.m., before United States District Court Judge Robert N. Scola in Miami. He faces a potential life sentence.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and Acting Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of FBI Miami.
The investigation was conducted by FBI Miami, with Assistant United States Attorney Zachary A. Keller leading the prosecution.
This case forms part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide. The project involves U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), pooling federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute offenders exploiting children online while also identifying and rescuing victims.
For further information on Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Individuals with information related to child sexual exploitation or abuse are urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Court documents related to this case can be accessed on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida or through http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 24-cr-20360.