Lubbock Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Posing as a Female Modeling Agent to Lure Teen and Take Sexually Explicit Photos of Her
LUBBOCK, TX - October 09, 2015 - Amadeo Cruz Torres, 24, of Lubbock, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 15 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in June 2015 to one count of production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Torres has been in custody since his arrest in June 2014.
According to documents filed in the case, Torres met the teenage minor, “Jane Doe,” at South Plains Mall in Lubbock on June 17, 2014, after he had been communicating with her online, via Facebook, about the possibility of modeling. Torres first represented himself to be a female modeling agent named “Amber.”
The teenage victim’s mother took Jane Doe to the mall to meet the supposed modeling scout. Jane Doe was advised that she would be meeting with “Shane,” the defendant. Jane Doe was advised to meet with Torres without a parent or friend to minimize distractions.
After meeting with Jane Doe in the mall’s food court, Torres took her to a family restroom and locked the door. He took a video of her while he instructed her to engage in various poses. Eventually, Torres directed her to disrobe completely so that he could film a nude video. At one point during the “modeling session,” Torres convinced her to let him touch her in a sexually explicit manner to verify that she was not hiding drugs.
Torres was arrested the following day at South Plains Mall where he had gone to meet another minor female. Officers seized his video camera, cell phone and tablet computer.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s 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 sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
The Lubbock Police Department and the FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy prosecuted.
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Northern District of Texas
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