West Texas Man Eduardo Lara Jr. Sentenced To More Than 12 Years For Coercing, Enticing Minor
EL PASO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — Eduardo Lara Jr., 24, of El Paso was sentenced to 12½ years in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.
"Homeland Security Investigations special agents and our law enforcement partners successfully took another child predator off the streets," said Taekuk Cho, acting special agent in charge of HSI El Paso. "This sentence exemplifies the commitment of HSI to identify, apprehend and prosecute those individuals who engage in coercing and enticing minors via the internet."
The El Paso Police Department and U.S. Customs and Border Protection assisted with the case.
According to court documents, on Aug. 25, Lara pleaded guilty to enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. By pleading guilty, Lara admitted that he engaged in sexual activity with a 13-year-old on at least two occasions in February 2020 and March 2020 in El Paso.
In March, the parents of the minor reported the child missing. It was later determined that Lara took the child to Mexico where he engaged in sexual activity with the child over the course of several days. Lara further admitted that he sent the child sexually explicit photographs via a social media application and requested such photographs in return.
Lara has remained in custody since his arrest on April 17, 2020.