Darryl Kogan
Introduction
Darryl Kogan, 68, of Boca Raton, a retired attorney, pleaded guilty to attempted receipt of visual depictions involving the sexual exploitation of a minor — attempting to obtain sexually explicit images from someone he believed was a 16-year-old girl through an online messaging application. The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office. Kogan faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison; sentencing has not yet been set.
Background Information
According to court records, the contact began on Feb. 18, 2026, when a purported 16-year-old began communicating with Kogan through an online messaging application. During their conversations, Kogan discussed engaging in sexual activity and exchanging sexually explicit images with the purported minor. He sent the purported minor a sexually explicit photograph of himself and repeatedly requested sexually explicit images in return, pressing the exchange across multiple messages. Law enforcement subsequently identified multiple accounts associated with Kogan that he used to engage in sexually explicit communications concerning minors.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Pleaded guilty. Kogan admitted attempting to obtain child sexual abuse material from someone he believed was a 16-year-old girl, including giving her specific instructions for producing the images he demanded.
At one point, Kogan told the purported minor, “Need pics to start the process.” When the purported minor indicated that she was having difficulty sending images through the application, Kogan provided specific instructions for taking and transmitting a sexually explicit photograph. U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones said: “This was not an accidental or ambiguous online exchange.” He added that Kogan “believed he was communicating with a 16-year-old girl, sent her a sexually explicit image of himself, repeatedly asked her for sexually explicit images, and gave her specific instructions for producing them.”
Public Reaction and Consequences
Reding Quiñones said: “His guilty plea is another reminder that professional status offers no shield from accountability, and that the internet does not provide anonymity or protection to those who seek to exploit children. Those who attempt to sexually exploit minors online will be identified, prosecuted, and held accountable.” The FBI is investigating the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jodi Anton is prosecuting. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida, under case number 26-cr-60256.
Current Status
Kogan awaits sentencing, which has not yet been set; a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The offense to which he pleaded guilty — attempted receipt of visual depictions involving the sexual exploitation of a minor — carries the 20-year maximum, and the plea resolves a case built on accounts law enforcement traced back to the retired attorney and on the messages he sent beginning February 18. The plea was announced October 15, 2026 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida in Miami.
Impact on Their Career/Life
Kogan spent his working life as an attorney; the guilty plea now stands as the profession’s closing entry, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office invoking his case for the proposition that “professional status offers no shield from accountability.” The multiple accounts identified by law enforcement as vehicles for sexually explicit communications concerning minors, the photograph he sent, and the production instructions he supplied reduce the offense from a momentary lapse to a documented course of conduct. At 68, the Boca Raton lawyer faces up to two decades in federal prison rather than a quiet retirement, with a sentencing date still to be determined.
Sources
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida, “Retired Boca Raton Attorney Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Obtain Child Sexual Abuse Material” — source