FORT LAUDERALE, Fla. — A Quebec man pleaded not guilty in a Florida court on Friday to charges stemming from allegations he travelled to the U.S. to have sex with a teenage boy.
Roberge, 47, was arrested Sunday at the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood airport after a flight from Montreal. He was charged with coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and travelling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
The court also denied him bail, saying he was considered a "danger to the community" and a flight risk.
In an unproven criminal complaint filed in court Monday, an American agent alleged Roberge cited a near-death experience for wanting to live out his "perv" fantasy of having sex with a boy.
According to the complaint filed by Vanessa Blanco, a special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the investigation began a year ago on a social networking site. An undercover agent posed as the 55-year-old father of a 13-year-old boy.
Last month, a user with the handle Erick Jones — later identified as Roberge — contacted the father, the complaint states.
Roberge, who belonged to an online chat group called "how sick and twisted are you," indicated he was looking for a dad willing to share a young boy, Blanco states.
"Roberge further states that because of his near-death experience, he has 'decided to live all (his) fantasies and go ahead to realize (his) perv dreams'," Blanco writes of an email Roberge allegedly sent last month.
He said he was willing to travel to Florida to meet the father and son for a "hot and horny time," Blanco says.
Roberge — who works for TVA in Sherbrooke, Que. — finally identified himself to the boy's father last week, the complaint filed with U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida alleges.
Police in Montreal provided a criminal history, biographical data and a photograph of Roberge, Blanco says.
A search of his iPad turned up child-porn images, according to the complaint.
Blanco says Roberge also admitted to having booked a trip to Texas to have sex with another boy.
