A federal district judge in Miami has sentenced Adam Gino James Cotte, 36, to 30 years in prison for soliciting sexually explicit images from a minor. Cotte, an Ohio resident and registered sex offender, communicated with a 14-year-old girl from South Florida via social media and directed her to send nude images of herself. He also instructed the victim's friend to record an explicit video.
Cotte was previously convicted in Ohio in 2020 for a child exploitation crime. On October 29, 2024, he pleaded guilty to attempted production of visual depictions involving the sexual exploitation of minors.
In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom ordered Cotte to a lifetime of supervised release and required him to register as a sex offender. A restitution hearing is scheduled for May 23, 2025.
U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne and Acting Special Agent Brett Skiles announced the sentence. The FBI Miami office investigated the case, with Assistant United States Attorneys Audrey Pence Tomanelli and Nardia Haye prosecuting.
The case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating child sexual exploitation. Launched in May 2006, it seeks to locate and prosecute individuals exploiting children online and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood or if you have information on child exploitation cases, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov or call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Additional details can be found on the websites of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the District Court for the Southern District of Florida under case number 24-cr-20150.