St. Johns County man found guilty of human trafficking and other chargers, faces life sentence

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The State Attorney, Seventh Judicial Circuit, said on Thur., Jun. 22, that a sixty-year-old St. Johns County man had been found guilty of sex charges. He now faces a life sentence.

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At the conclusion of a one-day trial on Wed., Jun. 21, a St. Johns County jury found the defendant, Janos Maier, guilty as charged of five felonies. These included human trafficking and traveling to meet a minor. The human trafficking charge carries a mandatory life sentence.

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A special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, posing as a 14-year-old girl, met the defendant on an internet site. The two proceeded to carry on a conversation through text messaging.

During the conversation, the agent repeatedly told the then 61-year-old Mairer that she was only 14. Maier insisted he wanted to pick her up and “make love” to her. Maier drove to a meet-up location and was arrested by law enforcement agents from St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.

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Mair was also convicted of attempted lewd and lascivious battery, unlawful use of a two-way device and soliciting a person believed to be a child for unlawful sexual conduct using computer services or devices.

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State Attorney R.J. Larizza said of the case:

“There are depraved individuals in our communities who prey upon our most precious and vulnerable – our children. These child predators deserve the harshest sentences allowed by law – and the defendant’s life sentence will ensure he never again poses a threat to our Kids.”