Federal Jury Convicts West Texas Man Felipe Mata-Benavidez Of Child Pornography Crimes
TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A federal jury has convicted Felipe Mata-Benavidez of Muleshoe, Texas of child pornography crimes.
After approximately forty minutes of deliberation, a federal jury on Tuesday found the 25-year-old guilty of production of child pornography.
According to evidence presented at trial, Mata-Benavidez attempted to sexually assault an 11-year-old relative at her home in Muleshoe. During the assault, the victim's mother walked in on Mata-Benavidez attempting to have sexual intercourse with minor.
The young girl's mother stopped the assault and fled the home with her daughter. A short time later, a concerned neighbor notified law enforcement after hearing about the incident.
The Muleshoe Police Department interviewed Mata-Benavidez after receiving a report that he had attempted to sexually assaulted the 11-year-old. During an interview he showed detectives his cell phone, which contained his messages with the young girl.
In those messages, Mata-Benavidez told the 11-year-old to send him explicit photographs of herself. When she refused, Mata-Benavidez bullied the girl until she conceded, texting Mata-Benavidez a lewd and lascivious image. He then commented saying the girl was beautiful and telling the her not to "share with anybody else… because it's mine." Mata-Benavidez then continued to ask for the 11-year-old to send him more explicit images.
Mata-Benavidez now faces up to 30 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has been set for July 8, 2021.
