MIDLOTHIAN, Va. — A City of Pittsburgh firefighter was arrested by the FBI in Virginia for what police described as “deeply disturbing” charges.
According to federal documents, Brian Kosanovich is facing multiple charges after a months-long investigation into online conversations he was having with who he thought was a woman regarding potentially meeting her and her daughter for sex. He was really talking to an undercover FBI agent.
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Undercover agents arrested Kosanovich at a Chili’s restaurant in Midlothian, Virginia just outside of Richmond on Feb. 18. He is charged with coercion and enticement, taking indecent liberties with children, and use of a communications system to facilitate offenses involving children.
The investigation started in Nov. 2019 when an undercover agent created a profile on a website described as a “network for members interested in alternative forms of sexual relationships and friendship,” according to an FBI criminal complaint. The undercover agent’s profile noted the user as an adult woman.
The Pittsburgh Fire Fighters Union President Ralph Sicuro sent Channel 11 a statement:
“Obviously, the allegations against Brian Kosanovich are shocking and disturbing. As we just learned about these allegations and the investigation is continuing, we cannot comment any further.”
On Nov. 14, investigators said Kosanovich -- under the username “bk11t” -- contacted the agent on that site. He allegedly claimed he was 50 years old and lived in Pittsburgh. They eventually moved their conversation to another messaging platform, where the agent purported to be a mother with access to her 10-year-old daughter.
Over the course of the next few months, federal documents show Kosanovich and the agent had lengthy conversations about wanting to meet for sex involving both the 10-year-old girl and her mother. Kosanovich sent multiple graphic images to the agent over that time, investigators said.
Channel 11 is not disclosing the content of those messages because of their sexual and graphic nature.
Kosanovich agreed to drive more than 350 miles to meet who he thought was a woman and her 10-year-old daughter, but FBI agents were waiting outside the restaurant in Virginia to take him into custody.
City of Pittsburgh officials confirmed Kosanovich is a city firefighter, and he was “immediately removed from duty and placed on unpaid administrative leave pending an administrative investigation.”
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