Georgia Man Sentenced To More Than 33 Years For Transporting A Minor With Intent To Engage In Sexual Activity And Possessing A Firearm As A Convicted Felon

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Vincent Joseph Robusto (42, Decatur, GA) to 33 years and 9 months in federal prison for transportation of a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity and possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. Robusto was also sentenced to a life term of supervised release and ordered to register as a sex offender. A federal jury found Robusto guilty on January 15, 2025.

According to evidence presented at trial, beginning in at least February 2021, Robusto was chatting and discussing sexual activity with a minor using a social media application. In July 2021, Robusto purchased an airline ticket for the minor using his bank card and provided the airline with the minor’s name and date of birth, indicating that he knew the minor’s age. On July 17, 2021, Robusto caused the minor to travel from Texas to Fort Myers, where airport surveillance video captured Robusto picking up the minor from the airport. 

Within a few days, the minor’s parent contacted the Dilley (Texas) Police Department (DPD) to report the minor missing and shared the locations of the minor’s cellphone that were observed using a locator application. The DPD contacted the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) for assistance in locating the minor and provided the residential address of a home in Port Charlotte indicated by the locator application.

On July 23, 2021, at approximately 3:00 a.m., CCSO deputies arrived at the Port Charlotte residence attempting to locate the minor, where they found Robusto with the minor. While executing a search of the residence, law enforcement located a firearm and ammunition inside Robusto’s backpack on a kitchen table. Robusto knew that he was a convicted felon and could not possess a firearm or ammunition. 

Subsequently, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) conducted DNA analysis on evidence obtained in this case. A crime laboratory analyst found Robusto’s DNA on the rough surfaces of the firearm and in the analysis of the sexual assault kit that had been collected from the minor. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fort Myers Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, and the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Dilley Police Department, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Lee County Port Authority. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Yolande G. Viacava and Benjamin S. Winter.

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.