A Mexican national has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to charges involving the sexual abuse of a minor and explicit communications over social media.
Giovanni Falcon, 41, admitted to transferring obscene material to a minor and coercion and enticement of a minor. According to court documents, Falcon exchanged messages with a 15-year-old girl on Instagram between January 1, 2024, and August 12, 2024. During July and August of that year, he sent the victim images of his genitals. Authorities say Falcon also engaged in sexual contact with the victim on multiple occasions.
The case came to light after the victim’s father discovered explicit messages on Instagram and contacted the St. Ann Police Department on August 13, 2024. Falcon was arrested by police the following day and confessed to sexually abusing the victim.
At sentencing scheduled for January 27, 2026, federal prosecutors plan to seek a prison term of 216 months for Falcon. He is not legally present in the United States and will be deported after serving his sentence.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations along with the St. Ann Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is handling prosecution.
"This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims," according to information from authorities. More details about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
