McALLEN — A Mission teen accused of creating a fake Facebook page to coerce underage boys into sending him pornographic images of themselves pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court.
Carlo Alberto Solis, 19, took the identity of Sandy Fernandez to solicit pornographic images from a 13-year-old boy in October of 2014 using the Facebook Instant Messaging application, according to court documents.
Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office received the initial complaint in November 2014 but the case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. After a federal search warrant executed on Facebook Inc., agents discovered multiple lewd images depicting the 13-year-old boy.
Agents discovered an address out of Mission linked to the account where Solis resided alone, according to court records. Solis confessed to enticing the 13-year-old boy to send him pornographic images and admitted to receiving additional images from other males that were under the age of 18 using the fake profile.
Solis was originally charged with receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography but the government agreed to drop his possession charge in exchange for his guilty plea. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 29, before Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa. Solis faces up to 20 years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine.
