Posted 9:12 am Friday, January 11, 2013
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Whitehouse man sentenced in online child sex crime case
Staff Reports
U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis sentenced a 23-year-old Whitehouse man to federal prison for child pornography violations on Thursday in the Eastern District of Texas, according to a news release.
Oscar Vela pleaded guilty on June 11 to online enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, the release stated.
Vela communicated with law enforcement agents who were acting in an undercover capacity, according to information presented in court. The law enforcement agents represented that they were a minor female who was available for sexual activity for a price, the news release stated.
Vela agreed to pay for sex with the minor female and was apprehended by law enforcement, the release stated.
Vela communicated with law enforcement agents who were acting in an undercover capacity, according to information presented in court. The law enforcement agents represented that they were a minor female who was available for sexual activity for a price, the news release stated.
Vela agreed to pay for sex with the minor female and was apprehended by law enforcement, the release stated.
As a result of this conviction, Vela will be placed on the required to register as a sex offender following his imprisonment.
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, the release stated.
Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the 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.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was investigated by the Longview Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mandy Griffith.
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, the release stated.
Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the 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.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was investigated by the Longview Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mandy Griffith.
