Port St. Lucie man gets 20 years' federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child

A Port St. Lucie man was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to production of visual depictions of the sexual exploitation of a child.

Luis Escoto, 28, was sentenced Monday to 20 years followed by 15 years of supervised release conditions after he pleaded guilty May 9, according to court records.

Court records stated the plea was part of a plea deal that led to the dismissal of five of six similar charges, which included enticement and attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.

The charges arose from a Martin County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations Fort Pierce investigation into allegations he had sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old when he was between 26 and 27 years old in 2022 and 2023, according to the Southern District of Florida United States Attorney’s Office.

Recordings of the acts and requests for images from the minor led to the production-related charges.

Detectives impersonated the girl by phone and arrested Escoto when he attempted to meet her for what was set up through text messages as a planned sexual encounter.

Escoto met the girl through their work at a restaurant in Jensen Beach and the girl’s mother contacted school resource deputies after discovering his requests for sexually explicit images on her phone, according to a TCPalm report.

Following his arrest, he admitted to meeting the girl when she was 17 and while he was either 26 or 27, and having sex multiple times in both Martin and St. Lucie counties, requesting photos and using his phone to record the acts.

According to the Southern District of Florida United States Attorney’s Office, the case was part of Project Safe Childhood, which is said to be a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers. Follow @coreyarwood on X, email corey.arwood@tcpalm.com or call 772-978-2246 .

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Port St. Lucie man gets 20 years' federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child