Children's store employee gets 25 years for trying to meet with minor at Edinburg hotel

EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A children's store employee was sentenced to a quarter of a century behind bars after arranging to meet with a minor at an Edinburg hotel for sex.

Jorge Eduardo Naranjo, 21, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a charge of coercion and enticement of a minor, records show.

Investigation

On Feb. 8, 2022, the FBI's McAllen office received a lead from FBI Philadelphia in reference to child pornography being distributed by a man on Kik under the username "damnucuteaf," and name "Bored Dude." The user had distributed three images of child porngraphy to an undercover FBI agent, and was later identified as San Juan resident Jorge Eduardo Naranjo.

_{Photo from criminal complaint obtained by ValleyCentral}

The profile picture for "damnucuteaf" showed a photo of the McAllen Convention Center.

The next month, another undercover agent based in McAllen messaged Naranjo on Kik. After some back and forth, Naranjo sent an explicit image of a child to the agent.

_{Photo from criminal complaint obtained by ValleyCentral}

The undercover agent then told Naranjo he would be travelling to South Padre Island with his 9-old-daughter. The agent and Naranjo agreed to meet at a McAllen hotel, where Naranjo would have sex with the child, the complaint stated. In the messages, Naranjo asked whether it was possible the child would become pregnant.

On March 28, Naranjo arrived at a hotel in Edinburg to meet with the agent and his alleged daughter, and was immediately taken into custody.

Sentencing

A release from the U.S. Attorney's Office stated that Naranjo crafted a life where he had access to children through working at a children's store, and possessed hundreds of files of child pornography.

Naranjo's sentence was enhanced after determining he was a repeat and dangerous offender.

“Naranjo exhibited some of the most dangerous behavior for our society,” said Hamdani. “He is a predator – he made specific inquiries about how to prevent children from reporting sexual abuse and if a 9-year-old could become pregnant. Thankfully, our partners put a stop to his threat and, together, we have taken another step in keeping our community safe from these reprehensible crimes.”

U.S. District Chief Judge Randy Crane noted that despite his age, he displayed alarming behavior and was a danger to the community.

Naranjo was also ordered to serve 10 years on supervised release following his prison sentence.