LOS ANGELES - A San Gabriel Valley man whose conviction on a previous sex offense ended his career in education was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity over the internet.
Albert Pinedo, 78, of Alhambra, was sentenced by United States District Judge George H. Wu.
At the conclusion of a four-day trial that ended on July 23, a federal jury found Pinedo guilty of one felony count of attempting to persuade, induce or entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.
According to the evidence presented at trial, on Feb. 26, 2020, Pinedo placed an ad on Craigslist that stated, “I’m a retired senior looking for casual contact with young men." An undercover Homeland Security Investigations agent answered the ad and responded as a fictitious 14-year-old boy. Pinedo and the undercover agent chatted online for approximately one week, before making plans to meet and engage in oral sex. In a series of emails that were presented at trial, Pinedo acknowledged the boy’s age and described sexual acts he wanted to perform. Pinedo also asked the undercover agent to take naked photos and send them.
On March 4, 2020, Pinedo traveled to meet with the undercover agent at the designated meeting place, where he was arrested. A search of his vehicle revealed that he had brought lubricant and a sex toy to their meeting.
Pinedo was a Los Angeles Unified School District middle school teacher and administrator who previously was convicted in 2003 of distribution of child pornography and was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison for that felony offense. Pinedo resigned his position at LAUSD following the allegations in that case.
Homeland Security Investigations investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey M. Chemerinsky and Amy E. Pomerantz of the Violent and Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
