“This was not a one-time error in judgement or slip in impulse control but a years-long, premediated, campaign to satisfy his sexual interest,” prosecutors said as reported by the Department of Justice.
The U.S Department of Justice released a statement on Aug. 9 announcing a federal charge against a California man who was found guilty of luring young girls, some as young as 9 years old, to film themselves in “sexually explicit ways.”
Twenty-eight-year-old Jonathan Garcia was sentenced to 25 years in prison along with 20 years of supervised release once out of custody.
On May 2, Garcia pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography.
According to the statement, Garcia admitted in his plea agreement to posing as a 15-year-old boy to have conversations with a 9-year-old girl about sending “naughty” pictures in exchange for online gaming currency known as Robux, which can be used for the Roblox online gaming platform.
Garcia received three sexually explicit videos from the victim in November 2019, according to the U.S Department of Justice.
The mother of the victim found their online correspondence and reported Garcia to the Ontario Police Department, who then started an investigation.
A search of Garcia’s home revealed several phones and “meticulously maintained digital folders” harboring child pornography including girls ranging from 11 to 14 years old.
The release states that during an interview with police, Garcia “admitted to contacting other minor girls online for photos and videos since 2015 and estimated that he probably contacted between 50-100 girls,” according to the plea agreement.
“This was not a one-time error in judgement or slip in impulse control but a years-long, premediated, campaign to satisfy his sexual interest,” prosecutors said as reported by the Department of Justice.
Garcia has been in federal custody since his arrest in March 2020.
The investigation into Garcia was conducted by the FBI and the Ontario Police Department.
