Buying used car leads to disturbing discovery, Keys cops say

Miami Herald

31-01-2025

A Florida Keys man who was already locked up on fraud and larceny charges was arrested Friday on child-porn and child sexual-battery charges after Monroe County deputies say they found dozens of disturbing images on his cellphone.
The phone contained a video of 36-year-old Michael John Demerjian sexually abusing a child who is younger than 12 years old and images of child pornography, said Adam Linhardt, spokesman for the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
'Protecting the most vulnerable members of our community will always be my highest priority, and I want to thank the men and women of the Major Crimes Unit as well as our partners at the State Attorney's Office for working quickly to do just that in this case,' Sheriff Rick Ramsay said in a statement.
Detectives were alerted to the images on Jan. 17 by a person who bought a car from Demerjian — who left his phone inside the vehicle, Linhardt said. Detectives found more than 70 child-pornography images, along with the video, Linhardt said.
The detectives worked with the Monroe County State Attorney's Office to investigate the case.
Demerjian, who lives on Big Pine Key in the Lower Keys, had been in county jail since Jan. 15 on charges that he stole $4,800 from a woman looking to rent a home in the island chain. According to his arrest warrant for that case, Demerjian advertised a house for rent on Facebook Marketplace with an address that did not exist.
After the woman sent him the money as a down payment, he ceased all contact with her, according to the warrant.
According to jail records, Demerjian has an arrest history in Monroe County going back to 2018 on charges that include felony child neglect, hit-and-run, grand-theft auto and drug possession.
He pleaded no contest to the hit-and-run-charge in March 2024 and was sentenced to time served. The other cases are still pending.
He is being held without bond on the child-pornography and sexual-battery charges, Linhardt said.