Texas Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Enticement of a Minor

MIDLAND, Texas – A Kingsville man was sentenced in a federal court in Midland to 168 months in prison for enticement of a minor.

According to court documents, Joel Garcia Elizondo Jr., 34, discussed engaging in multiple sexual acts with a person he believed was a 15-year-old girl over various social media applications. Elizondo agreed to meet the girl outside an Odessa middle school one evening. Once Elizondo arrived outside the school, he was immediately taken into custody by Texas Department of Public Safety (TX DPS) Criminal Investigation Division (CID) special agents and Odessa Police Department officers. On Aug. 1, a federal jury in Midland found Elizondo guilty of the charge.

“These investigations are crucial to protecting children across our district, and the nation, as they identify and apprehend adults who are willing to meet children online for sex,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “I appreciate the proactive efforts of our law enforcement partners who potentially prevented a hands-on sexual assault of a child by this defendant.”

TX DPS, the Odessa Police Department and Midland County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joe Mahoney and John Fedock prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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