A 61-year-old McAllen man is facing up to life in prison for coercing a minor into selling him sexually explicit images through the messaging application WhatsApp.
Luis Fabian Vela was arrested on Thursday at the Hidalgo Port of Entry as he attempted to enter the United States. He is charged with coercion and enticement of a minor which occurred between Sept. 29 and Oct. 5 of last year, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
The criminal complaint alleges that investigators received an investigative referral from San Juan police in reference to information that the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District Police Department received.
That information revealed that a 15-year-old minor was enticed online between Sept. 29 and Oct. 4 into sending nude and sexually explicit images for money to an adult male through WhatsApp, according to a complaint.
Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Investigations Task Force identified Vela as the suspect.
Once the task force contacted Vela, he told authorities that the minor had told him they were 16-years-old and began to solicit the minor for nude and sexually explicit images and video in exchange for money, according to the complaint.
Vela told investigators that the nude images were saved in a hidden photo album on his mobile phone which investigators viewed.
Coercing and enticing a minor into sending nude and sexually explicit images through the use of WhatsApp constitutes as receipt and attempted receipt of child pornography, according to the complaint.
