ARRESTED: Travel to meet a minor for unlawful sexual activity/Missing Juvenile
On January 31, 2026, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a missing 12-year-old girl. Her parents initially believed she was staying overnight at a friend’s house. When she stopped responding to calls and messages the next day, they reported her missing.
Detectives tracked the girl’s phone to a hotel in Orange County. Deputies from both counties responded and found the missing child in a vehicle with 22-year-old Edar Fabricio Dejesus-Matheu.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office criminal investigations division conducted an on-site interview and learned that the two met on social media and communicated for several months
They planned their meeting in advance. Dejesus-Matheu, a North Carolina resident, traveled to Osceola County, picked up the child, and drove her to the hotel in Orange County.
Preliminary interviews revealed that Dejesus-Matheu engaged in lewd and lascivious molestation within Orange County. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division was notified and assumed responsibility for the investigation.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office charged Dejesus-Matheu with traveling to meet a minor for unlawful sexual activity and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office arrested and charged him with lewd or lascivious molestation of a minor. Dejesus-Matheu remains in the Orange County jail, pending additional charges in Osceola County.
On Safer Internet Day, we urge parents to stay informed about their children’s online and phone activities. Your vigilance can help protect them from serious harm.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office is dedicated to serving our community and increasing public safety. Anyone with information related to this case or any other similar incidents, please contact the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office at (407) 348-2222.