Cortez man faces decades in prison after guilty verdict in child sex abuse case
A Manatee County jury found a man guilty of possessing child sexual abuse material after detectives said they found illegal content on his electronic devices, according to court records.
Jurors convicted 40-year-old Gavan Berzman on all 19 felony counts following a three-day trial before Circuit Judge Matt Whyte. The trial resolved a case that began after investigators received an internet tip in 2020. However, defense attorneys have filed motions challenging the verdict, court records show.
Each count is a second-degree felony under Florida law, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Whyte revoked Berzman’s bond following the verdict and ordered him taken into custody, according to court records. Berzman is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. on Feb. 6.
Tip leads to investigation of Cortez man
Investigators began looking into the case after the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in October 2020, according to an arrest report.
NCMEC had received an online tip from Adobe Inc. referencing the alleged distribution of files containing possible child sexual abuse material, the report said. The online tip stated that a user with the Adobe screen name “GBerzman” uploaded 11 suspicious image files, according to the report.
Berzman’s name and an email address including his name were associated with the account, investigators said.
Detectives subpoenaed internet service providers for subscriber information tied to IP addresses referenced in the online tip, according to the report. One subpoena returned information connected to a residence in Cortez, while another returned subscriber information listing Berzman along with the same email account, the report said.
A sheriff’s office deputy went to the Cortez home in April 2021 to determine whether Berzman lived there, according to the report. The deputy said they saw a vehicle registered to Berzman parked at the property.
Child sex abuse material found on man’s devices, deputies say
Detectives said they returned to the home on July 19, 2021, to speak with Berzman and interviewed him at the home.
At the time, Berzman told detectives he was the only person who used his electronic devices and said the internet connection at the residence was secured, the report said. He also acknowledged having an Adobe account associated with the email address, but he said the account had been shut down the year before, according to the report.
Berzman told detectives he had visited websites where he viewed pornography, but said he did not believe he’d ever looked at anyone underage, the report said. He told detectives it was possible illegal content could have been involved but said he would not have knowingly saved anything illegal, according to the report.
A detective conducted a preview of Berzman’s electronic devices and located at least one illegal image, according to the report.
Cortez man said he was unaware of abuse material, records say
When asked about the image, Berzman told detectives he did not remember seeing it and believed it may have been part of a catalog he downloaded, the report said. He told detectives he did not realize what the content was at the time and believed he had deleted the files but may have missed some, according to the report.
Detectives seized Berzman’s electronic devices, except for his cellphone, and later conducted a forensic examination, the report said.
A detective completed the exam in January 2022 and located multiple images and videos containing child sexual abuse material on several devices, according to the report. Some of the files were recovered from areas of the devices that are not normally visible to users, the report said.
The images and videos depicted children ranging in age from 4 to 13 years old, according to the arrest report.
Manatee County criminal case spanned several years
Prosecutors filed the criminal case in February 2022. Court records show the case stretched on for years, with multiple delays and court hearings over what evidence jurors would be allowed to see.
In late 2024, prosecutors sought to add additional counts, but Whyte dismissed those charges after granting defense motions, court records show.
Following the guilty verdicts, defense attorneys filed motions seeking a new trial and a judgment of acquittal. A hearing on those motions is scheduled for Jan. 30, court records show.
Cortez man’s defense challenges verdict
According to court records, the motion for acquittal argues that prosecutors failed to prove that Berzman knowingly possessed the images or knew their content and that no evidence at trial showed he personally viewed the files.
The mistrial motion, meanwhile, contends that evidence previously ruled inadmissible was improperly emphasized during the trial and contributed to the verdict.
“This evidence included, but was not limited to, 141 non-charged actual images of child pornography which were presented in detail to the jury, testimony regarding four additional machines and purported child pornography found on them which were wholly unrelated to the machine where the charged images came from,” according to the motion filed on Dec. 29.
Berzman remains in custody at the Manatee County Jail pending sentencing, court records show.
