Friend of embattled US Rep. Matt Gaetz pleads guilty to sex trafficking

A former Florida official central to the federal probe on whether US Representative Matt Gaetz trafficked a minor for sex pleaded guilty on Monday and agreed to co-operate with prosecutors, which may spell trouble for the Republican congressman.

Joel Greenberg, a former tax collector in Florida's Seminole County, pleaded guilty to six charges, including sex-trafficking of a minor, at a court hearing in federal court in Orlando, Florida.

Appearing in court wearing a blue prison jumpsuit with the words “Orange County Corrections,” Greenberg was shackled and returned to jail after the hearing.

Greenberg's lawyer, Fritz Scheller, indicated his client would co-operate if prosecutors sought information from him about Gaetz, telling reporters, “He will honour his plea agreement.”

Scheller said a sentencing hearing probably will be set for sometime this summer and said of Greenberg: “He's feeling a sense of remorse” over his actions.

In a document filed in court on Friday, Greenberg admitted to introducing the minor he trafficked to other adult men who engaged in sex acts with the minor in Greenberg's presence, court papers showed. The papers did not identify the other adult men.

The plea deal marked a turning point in the sprawling federal investigation that has roiled Florida politics and ensnared Gaetz, 39, one of former President Donald Trump's staunchest defenders in Congress.

Investigators want to determine whether Gaetz had sex with the same 17-year-old Greenberg was accused of trafficking, according to news reports and a law enforcement source who spoke with Reuters.

Gaetz has not been charged with any crimes and has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

At a gathering of Republican Party activists last weekend in Ohio, Gaetz addressed the crowd and, according to an NBC News report, said, “I'm being falsely accused of exchanging money for naughty favours.”

Gaetz, according to NBC, then criticised Congress for reinstituting the use of special-interest spending known as earmarks, saying it is “a process that legalises the corrupt act of exchanging money for favours... and everybody knows that's a corruption.”

When the news of Greenberg's impending guilty plea broke on Thursday, Gaetz spokesperson Harlan Hill questioned Greenberg's credibility.

“The first indictment of Joel Greenberg alleges that he falsely accused another man of sex with a minor for his own gain. That man was apparently innocent. So is congressman Gaetz,” said Hill.

Greenberg also pleaded guilty to having letters sent to a school where a political rival worked that falsely accused the man of sexual misconduct with a student, according to federal prosecutors.