Project Safe Childhood | Project Safe Childhood
On February 16, 2023, United States District Court Judge Thomas O.Rice sentenced Miguel Antonio Mondaca, 25, of Phoenix, Arizona, to 360 months in federalprison following a jury’s guilty verdicts on charges of Child Sex Trafficking, Online Enticement,and Child Pornography Production and Receipt. Describing Mondaca’s victimization of a 12-year-old girl in the Spokane area as “egregious,” Judge Rice also imposed a lifetime of federalsupervision upon Mondaca’s release from custody, and awarded the victim $30,000 in restitutionfor therapy.
According to court documents and proceedings, Mondaca, who lived in Phoenix, communicatedin extremely graphic sexual ways with his minor victim, who was in the Spokane area. Afterlearning her true name and the fact that she was a minor, Mondaca convinced his victim todisclose exactly where she lived, and created a detailed plan to kidnap her from her home inorder to rape and traffic her. He explained to her exactly how child sex trafficking “works,”telling her that he would advertise her online to “customers” for sex and then take her to a “spot”and leave her there to be sexually assaulted.
In connection with his plans, Mondaca bought a plane ticket from Phoenix to Spokane, postedimages of his itinerary online, and told his minor victim that he was coming to kidnap and rapeher on the specific dates of his planned travel. When officers with the Washington State Patroland Homeland Security Investigations learned that Mondaca had purchased the plane ticket totravel to Spokane, they sought a nationwide extraditable warrant for his arrest. Officers inSpokane worked closely with their law enforcement colleagues in Phoenix to obtain and executesearch warrants for Mondaca’s residence. In his digital devices, officers recovered the imagesand communications he had solicited from his primary victim. They also discovered a largecollection of other child pornography images that Mondaca had downloaded from the Internet,including images depicting bestiality, the sexual abuse of toddlers, and other sexual violations ofchildren.
“As a parent, I am chilled by the manipulative and exploitative conduct for which Mr. Mondacahas now been convicted by a jury and sentenced by the Court,” said United States AttorneyVanessa R. Waldref. “My office takes sexual exploitation extremely seriously, whether online orin-person. Children in the Eastern District and elsewhere deserve to live in a world free fromsexual predators. Today’s significant sentence will protect our community, and send a messageto those who seek to harm children: justice is coming.”
U.S. Attorney Waldref also praised the collaborative efforts of state, local, and federal lawenforcement. “This investigation was successful because of the incredibly diligent teamwork ofWashington State Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations, with assists from the PhoenixPolice Department and numerous other law enforcement agencies. I commend Assistant UnitedStates Attorneys Alison Gregoire and Ann Wick, who tried the case to the jury withprofessionalism and sensitivity for the victim and her family. I also commend Assistant UnitedStates Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator David Herzog, who presented theindictment to the grand jury and handled today’s sentencing on behalf of the United States.Finally, I sincerely thank Jolene Jones and Petra Frandsen, the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s victimwitness specialists, for their tireless work on behalf of the victims of crime, in this case and somany others.”
The case was investigated by Washington State Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, andthe Phoenix Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Alison Gregoire, Ann Wick,and David Herzog represented the United States.
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