Snyder sting leads to conviction for attempted child enticement

SNYDER, Texas ( KTAB/KRBC ) – A 38-year-old man who tried to meet a minor for sex at a park in Snyder was found guilty at trial.

A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office , Northern District of Texas, reported that Jose Luis Espinoza, Jr., 38, was indicted in February. He initially pleaded guilty in May but later withdrew the plea before it was accepted by the District Court, citing intimidation by counsel. After a two-day trial, a jury deliberated for just 30 minutes before convicting Mr. Espinoza of attempted enticement of a minor.

At the trial, a Snyder police officer testified that Espinoza was apprehended in an undercover online investigation. Here is the press release regarding the incident:

“ On Feb. 5, the officer created a social media profile posing as a 13-year-old girl named “Maddi.” Later that day, Mr. Espinoza reached out to Maddi’s profile and immediately began discussing sexual activity and requesting photographs.

After receiving a photograph of what appeared to be a 13-year-old girl (but was in actuality an age-regressed photo of the officer), Mr. Espinoza asked Maddie how old she was.

“I am almost 14,” she replied.

Mr. Espinoza continued to send lewd and lascivious messages, asking Maddi about her body and her sexual history and detailing what he wanted to do to her.

“You really are a kid, aren’t you,” he wrote. “I’m a horny old guy… guys get locked up for talking to girls like you.”

Two days later, Mr. Espinoza instructed Maddi to meet him at a park near her house. Mr. Espinoza promised the child Skittles and whisky and said he would bring a towel, as Maddi would likely bleed following intercourse.

“Idk if I wanna do it. I am scared,” she said.

Mr. Espinoza responded with a laughing emoji, then told her she was “so whiny” and needed to “relax.”

Mr. Espinoza was arrested at a park in Snyder on Feb. 7. Inside his car, officers found Skittles, whiskey, condoms, a towel, and a 9mm Glock handgun. “

He now faces a minimum of ten years and up to life in federal prison. The Snyder Police Department conducted the investigation with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Redd, Callie Woolam, and Jeffrey Haag prosecuted the case, which was presided over by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix.

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