A 36-year-old Texas man was sentenced to a decade in prison in March after pleading guilty to one count of enticing a minor, the U.S. Attorney's Office Western District of Texas said.
Armando Rafael Mascorro pleaded guilty in October and will face supervised release for five years and register as a sex offender when released from prison.
"This case reminds all of us to remain vigilant about our children's online behavior and social media presence," FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey R. Downey, El Paso Field Office, said in a release. "We encourage parents to speak with their children about the dangers of online predators who use popular apps, games, and websites and to report any suspicious activity to law enforcement."
The El Paso resident was contacting whom he believed was a 14-year-old in April 2021 using an unnamed social media application, federal authorities said in the release.
Authorities further said that through those conversations, they learned Mascorro planned to have a sexual encounter with the minor and traveled to a meeting location where he was arrested by law enforcement.
In those social media chats, federal authorities said Mascorro posted "that he had an attraction to 'younger females.'"
Federal authorities revealed that Mascorro was in contact with an undercover law enforcement officer.
