CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 24-year-old Corpus Christi man has been charged with the attempted sex trafficking of a 14-year-old girl, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez.
A federal criminal complaint was filed yesterday against Marcus Anthony Tunchez. He was previously in custody on an unrelated firearms charge and is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge B. Janice Ellington at 2:00 p.m. today on the new charges.
Tunchez was allegedly communicating with a person for the purpose of sex trafficking a child he believed was a 14-year-old girl. According to the charges, Tunchez expected to meet the child and transport her to a hotel where she would engage in a commercial sex act. Tunchez was taken into custody as he arrived at the designated meeting place.
If convicted, Tunchez faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Corpus Christi Police Department - Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugo R. Martinez, 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 the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
