Josue Navarro, 37 of St. Croix, was sentenced Friday to 30 months in prison for attempted coercion and enticement for illegal sexual activity, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced.
Chief District Court Judge Wilma A. Lewis also sentenced Navarro to three years of supervised release, a $1,000 fine and a $100 special assessment.
Navarro pleaded guilty Aug. 30 to attempted coercion and enticement for illegal sexual activity, Shappert said in a news release issued Monday.
According to the plea agreement filed in court, on or about June 23, 2017 to June 25, 2017, law enforcement officers operating in an undercover capacity created and posted ads online. The post was captioned “home 4 the summer, looking fun in the sun NSA.” The ad was posted by a law enforcement officer posing as a 14-year-old female named “Niema.” In online dating, “NSA” is an acronym for “no strings attached.”
At 8:43 p.m. June 24, 2017, “Niema” asked the defendant if he brought something “cause I don’t wanna get pregnant, my mother will kill me,” to which the defendant responded “yes.” At 9:03 p.m. “Niema” told the defendant she was 14. At 9:18 p.m., the defendant said “[L]emme come get you n we go get whatever it is u want.”
At 11:02 the defendant texted the following to “Niema” and in highly graphic language, offered suggestions as to methods and means for sexual penetration which defendant offered to provide to “Niema.”
At 1:19 p.m. June 25, 2017, the defendant texted “Niema,” asking “to engage in other sex acts involving carnal knowledge.” At 4:35 p.m., the defendant told “Niema” “[L]et me come pick you up.” The defendant was to meet with “Niema” at an arranged location in St. Croix and was taken into custody by law enforcement.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rhonda Williams-Henry.