Texas man accused of attempting to obtain sexually explicit photos from minor in Pennsylvania
A Texas man was arrested for attempting to obtain sexually explicit photos from a minor in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, authorities said.
Indiana County District Attorney Robert Manzi said in a news release on Thursday that Marcoctavio Romero, of San Antonio, was charged with transfer or attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor and coercion and enticement of a minor, or attempted. Romero's charges were filed in federal court in Texas.
Authorities said in the news release that the victim's family made a report with the Blairsville Borough Police Department that an unknown man was messaging the underage victim through Roblox and Instagram. Roblox is a popular gaming platform and app marketed to young people that allows users to create their own games.
The district attorney's office said the suspect sent obscene photos of himself to the victim and then asked the minor to send similar images. The victim's family then reported it to law enforcement.
Search warrants were obtained for Instagram, Roblox, Google and a bank account, the district attorney's office said. That information led police to Romero, according to officials.
There was never contact between the Texas man and the minor other than online, Manzi said.
"Anyone who attempts to victimize children deserves every punishment coming their way. I am thankful that the victim and their family came forward with this information so that the perpetrator can be arrested and prosecuted on these charges," Manzi said in the news release on Thursday.
Blairsville police, the Indiana County Detectives Bureau and the San Antonio FBI Field Office worked together on the case.
Blairsville is about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh.
