The Monroe County State Attorney’s Office is seeking the death penalty for Florida Keys, accused of raping his 3-year-old daughter and recording dozens of horrifying acts on his cell phone.
A law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023 made sexual artillery fire in children under the age of 12 a capital offence, and state Attorney Dennis Ward said details of the case met all standards for the death penalty.
“The nature of this crime is beyond understanding,” Ward said. “Crimes against children, especially this terrible crime, demand the full force of the law and we don’t hesitate to seek justice.”
Micheal John Demerjian, 36, was already in the county jail on January 17th when the person who bought his car found his phone in a vehicle containing more than 70 images and videos of his child.
Read more: Buying a used car leads to intrusive discoveries, says Officer Keys
The images and videos were so intrusive that the large ju apprentices who indicted Demergian in February were shed tears upon hearing about them, as were the Monroe County Sheriff’s detectives who had to explain the images he and his colleagues had discovered.
“The evidence in this case is unquestionable as to the need to seek the death penalty,” Mansfield said. “We will proactively prosecute this case so that justice is provided.”
According to the state attorney’s office, Colleen Dunn, the key crime unit prosecutor, will attempt to file a lawsuit on the state’s behalf.
After the person warned the sheriff’s office about a phone call he found in Demergian’s car, the detective worked with the prosecutor to investigate the case.
Demergian, who lives in Big Pine Keys, Lower Keys, has been in the county jail since November and has been in the county jail on charges of stealing $4,800 from a woman trying to rent a home on the island chain.
According to his arrest warrant for the incident, Demergian advertised a home to rent on the Facebook market, with an address that did not exist.
According to the warrant, he stopped all contact with her after the woman sent him money as a down payment.
County Jail records show that Demergian has a history of arrests with keys dating back to 2018 on charges that include felony child neglect, hit and run, epic theft car and drug ownership.
He was declared time in March 2024 without suing the contest to the hit and run rep. Other cases are still pending. He is restrained without being bound by child porn and sexual battery accusations.
Demergian is represented by lawyers at the Monroe County Public Defense Office. Official defender Robert Lockwood declined to comment when the Herald reached.
