Florida Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Traveling to have Sex with Child

A Florida man who traveled from Florida to the Northern District of Texas to have sex with a minor was sentenced on March 11, 2025 to 30 years in federal prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Carlos Robles, 31, was indicted in May 2020 and pleaded guilty in August 2022 to Interstate Travel with Intent to Engage in a Sexual Act with a Minor. He was sentenced on March 11, 2025 to the statutory maximum of 360 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Karen G. Scholer, who also ordered him to 24 years of supervision following his release and registration as a sex offender.

According to court documents, on or about January 31, 2020, the defendant traveled via commercial airline from Florida to the Northern District of Texas for the purposes of engaging in sexual conduct with the victim, who was under the age of 18.  In handing down the sentence, the court emphasized the need to protect society from further crimes of the defendant.  Specifically, the Court noted multiple facts of the case when imposing the sentence, including the age of the victim, the fact the defendant had over 5,000 messages with the victim in a four-month span, and that the defendant traveled from Florida four times to meet the victim, including once at a roller-skating rink.

“The sentence today is a message to anyone who even thinks about traveling to the Northern District of Texas to prey on children – you will go to prison for a very long time,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Meacham.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Garland Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jongwoo Chung and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”