BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 37-year-old resident of Los Fresnos has been sentenced for enticement of a child, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Guadalupe “Pete” Azocar pleaded guilty March 21.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. has now ordered him to serve 216 months in federal prison. Azocar was further ordered to pay a $24,000 fine and must serve 10 years on supervised release following the completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
In February 2020, Azocar struck up an online friendship with an 11-year-old minor girl through HOLA, an online video chat and live streaming application. The conversations migrated to WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger where Azocar was able to send messages and videos and live video chat with the minor victim for several months.
Even though Azocar was aware the minor was then 12 years old, he repeatedly sent pornographic videos, including videos of child pornography to the victim and persuaded her to send sexually explicit images and videos of herself.
The messages between Azocar and the victim showed that Azocar had plans to meet the minor child in person.
Azocar was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana C. Cano is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.