ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Legal professional for the District of New Mexico, introduced that Joshua Rico pleaded responsible on Dec. 22 to 5 counts of coercion and enticement of minors. Rico, 26, of Pecos, New Mexico, will stay in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.
Starting as early as January 2018, Rico used a number of profiles on the social media platform Snapchat to coerce minor women into sending him sexually express images and movies and have interaction in sexual acts. Rico used fictitious profiles underneath the names “Chris Lujan” and “Erik Romero” in addition to a profile in his personal identify to threaten, coerce and manipulate at the least 4 victims who have been between 14 and 16 years outdated.
In every case, Rico used one or each of his faux profiles to influence the victims into sending compromising images, then used the specter of exposing the images to coerce the victims into participating in sexual acts and sending him movies of the acts. In two instances, after utilizing a faux profile to demand that the victims have interaction in sexual acts and supply movies, he supplied to “assist” the victims by permitting them to carry out the sexual act with him. Rico coerced at the least one of many victims into participating in sexual acts with him.
Rico faces as much as life in jail and might be required to register as a intercourse offender.
The New Mexico State Police, the FBI, and the Regional Laptop Forensic Laboratory investigated this case as a part of the New Mexico Web Crimes Towards Youngsters (ICAC) Process Power. The ICAC Process Power Program is a nation-wide community of job forces together with over 90 federal, state, native and tribal legislation enforcement businesses in New Mexico devoted to investigating, prosecuting and creating efficient responses to Web crimes towards kids.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Mease and Jaymie L. Roybal are prosecuting the case as a part of Venture Secure Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in Could 2006 by the Division of Justice (DOJ) to fight the rising epidemic of kid sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Places of work and DOJ’s Legal Division’s Baby Exploitation and Obscenity Part, Venture Secure Childhood marshals federal, state and native assets to raised find, apprehend and prosecute people who exploit kids through the Web, in addition to to determine and rescue victims. For extra details about Venture Secure Childhood, please go to http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
For extra data on sextortion and get assist, go to the FBI website.
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