Regan Anthony Beresford, 54, of Cape Coral, has been convicted of Traveling to Meet a Minor and Transmission of Material Harmful to Minors by Electronic Device or Equipment. The jury returned the guilty verdict just after 7 p.m. Thursday evening, following a three-day trial in Lee County.
Assistant State Attorney Janesha Beckford and Assistant State Attorney Michael Curley prosecuted the case.
The case began on July 29, 2022, when the juvenile victim’s parents contacted the Cape Coral Police Department after their child informed them that a former neighbor had been texting them. The content of the texts was making the child uncomfortable.
A Cape Coral Police Detective obtained permission from the child’s parents to access the child’s phone. The defendant continued texting the phone, with texts that were sexual in nature, which were being seen directly by the detective. The defendant also sent a sexual image of himself.
A meeting time and date was arranged between the defendant and detective. The defendant wanted, who he presumed was the juvenile, to meet him at a convenience store on North Burnt Store Road in Cape Coral so he could have sex with the child.
Police were waiting as the defendant pulled up. The defendant texted the child’s phone that he was there and to meet him at the side of the store. The defendant was instead met by members of the Cape Coral Police Department and was arrested.
The defendant had condoms and another sex related item with him that he had admitted purchasing just prior to arriving at the location to meet the child.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 21, 2025.
Samantha Syoen – State Attorney’s Office Communications Director