Mexican man sentenced in south Texas to 10 years for enticing a minor for sex
2 others have also been sentenced in connection with this case
MCALLEN, Texas — A man from Mexico living in Pharr, Texas, was sentenced May 2 to more than 10 years in federal prison for enticing a minor for sex, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of Pharr Police Department.
Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa sentenced Jose Luis Garcia-Saldivar, 29, to 121 months imprisonment. Garcia-Saldivar pleaded guilty the charges Sept. 4, 2012. He admitted he intended to have sex with a minor for money. Garcia-Saldivar asked the victim to send him photographs from her cell phone of herself which included sexually explicit conduct. Garcia-Saldivar's sentence was enhanced because the minor victim was only 14 years of age at the time. Garcia-Saldivar will also be required to register as a sex offender.
According to court documents, on April 2012, a Pharr Police Department investigator contacted HSI concerning the solicitation of a minor for sexual purposes. Special agents recovered a cellular telephone that was being used by a 14-year-old girl to receive messages from adult males requesting sexual encounters in exchange for money. Posing as the minor, agents began conversing with the unknown males via text messages over the cell phone.
During the course of this investigation, two others were arrested and subsequently charged in separate cases with enticing a minor. Felipe de Jesus Ponce-Torres, 25, of Mexico, was sentenced to 120 months in prison after he had pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Micaela Alveraz. Teofanes Salas-Campos, 41, of Mission, Texas, was sentenced to 135 months in prison after he pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Randy Crane.
During their respective guilty pleas, all three men admitted they intended to have sex with an individual whom they believed was a minor and that they were going to pay the minor between $80 and $100.
All three men have been and will remain in custody.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly Ann Leo and Juan Villescas, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted the case
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