Leigha Simonton, United States Attorney, Northern District of Texas | U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas
A man from Lubbock, Texas, has been sentenced to life in federal prison for the sexual exploitation of a child, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.
Alec Mendoza, 26, was indicted in May 2024 and later pleaded guilty in August 2024 to the charge of enticement of a minor. U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix delivered the sentence.
Court documents revealed that Mendoza met the victim, known in the case as “Jane Doe,” and her mother at a party in 2020. At the time, the victim was 10 years old, and Mendoza was 22. Following their meeting, Mendoza started communicating with Doe online and commenced sexual abuse on Valentine's Day in 2021, a year later when Doe was 11.
Mendoza moved into Doe's family home shortly after the abuse began and continued the abusive relationship for more than two years. He had sexual intercourse with Doe approximately 30 to 50 times and sent her messages discussing sex, instructing Doe to delete them.
In December 2023, Mendoza was discovered sending late-night text messages to Doe from his bedroom. Confronted by Doe's mother, Mendoza admitted to the ongoing sexual relationship.
The prosecution noted that Mendoza consented to a polygraph examination after his conviction, which he did not pass. During a subsequent interview, Mendoza confessed to the sexual abuse of a second child. A search of Mendoza's phone uncovered 20 videos of child sexual abuse material, which Mendoza admitted to distributing online.
At the sentencing, Judge Hendrix addressed Mendoza, stating: “I have to make a lot of difficult decisions. This is not one of them.” He further remarked that the trauma caused by Mendoza's actions is beyond words.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lubbock Police Department were involved in the investigation, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Rancourt handled the prosecution of the case.
