A 48-year-old man from Saginaw, Texas has been sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison for attempted child coercion and enticement in the Eastern District of Texas, U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Cox and FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno announced.
Adam Rene Rodriguez was found guilty in October of 2019 and was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison on Thursday by U.S. District Judge Sean D. Jordan.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas, information presented at trial indicated that Rodriguez was arrested by members of the FBI Dallas Field Office and the Plano Police Department on May 3, 2019. At the time, Rodriguez had traveled to Plano to engage in sex acts with an individual he believed to be 14 years old.
During the trial, jurors heard that an undercover agent entered a sexually-oriented messaging group that was run by Rodriguez.
Between April 10 and May 3 of 2019, Rodriguez exchanged messages with the undercover agent even after he was repeatedly made aware that the agent's persona was underage.
Rodriguez, using the username "Texasarod," continued to ask for photos of the child, sent sexually explicit material, and offered to "train" the child to engage in various sex acts, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas said.
During the trial, the jury was presented with messages in which Rodriguez instructed the child on how to hide her online activities from her parents.
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The exchanges continued until May 3, 2019, when Rodriguez drove to a pre-arranged meeting location with condoms in order to engage in illegal sex acts with the child.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas, Rodriguez testified on his own behalf and stated that he believed that he was communicating with an adult who was role playing or fantasizing about pretending to be a child.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
