Press Release
El Paso Man Sentenced To Over 17 Years For Online Enticement Of A Minor
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Georgia
Brunswick, GA: Aaron Flores, 26, of El Paso, Texas, who was more recently stationed at Kings Bay, Georgia, was sentenced earlier this week by United States District Court Chief Judge Lisa Godbey Wood to over 17 years in prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, for the Online Enticement of a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity. He will also be required to register as a sex offender. Flores pled guilty to the crime on May 20, 2014.
United States Attorney Edward Tarver said, “The defendant’s predatory behavior warrants the significant sentence imposed. The U. S. Attorney’s Office aggressively prosecutes individuals, like this defendant, who are involved in such destructive acts towards our children.”
Evidence presented during the guilty plea and sentencing hearings revealed that Flores, then 25, but posing as a 15-year-old on a social media profile page, engaged in numerous online communications through “Tagged.com” and “Kik” in an effort to meet with minors to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and to receive illicit images from the minors. In early September 2013, Flores contacted a 13-year-old girl living in Camden County and, through a series of chats, convinced her to sneak out of her home during the night and travel with him to his on-base apartment to engage in sexual activity. A short time later, a concerned neighbor alerted the girl’s parents that the girl had snuck out, which led to law enforcement involvement. Images and chats on Flores’s phone, as well as further investigative efforts in other jurisdictions, revealed efforts to solicit other minors. The Court cited to Flores’s “ruinous acts” of sneaking a 13-year-old girl onto a military base and engaging in oral sex in support of the lengthy sentence.
This prosecution was the result of a cooperative investigation conducted by the U. S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Kingsland Police Department, and St. Mary’s Police Department. Assistance was also provided by the Denver Police Department and Royal Canadian Mounted Police. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, which is a nationwide U. S. Department of Justice initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims.
Assistant United States Attorney Nancy Greenwood, Deputy Criminal Chief and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States. For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.
Updated April 13, 2015
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