What happened to the TSA worker convicted after a Chris Hansen sting in Polk County, Florida?

Chris Hansen said a TSA security worker driving from North Carolina to a family birthday party in Florida arranged online to pay a supposed stepfather for sex with a 14-year-old girl, then walked into the hotel room set up for the sting and was arrested by Polk County sheriff's deputies. Because a parent was supposedly selling the child, the case became a human trafficking charge. He turned down a 15-year plea deal and went to trial, Hansen testified, and the jury convicted him, leaving him facing mandatory life in prison in Florida.

• Hansen says the man went through three lawyers, with his family paying the bills.
• Hansen says he rarely has to testify, and this was one of the few cases where he did.

▸In their words

“And the jury was out 20 minutes and convicted him.” Chris Hansen · at 29:54 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on The Shawn Ryan Show (2026-10-26). Read the whole episode summary →

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