A San Antonio man was sentenced to 8 years in prison for sending sexually explicit messages to who he thought was a teenage girl he intended to meet but turned out to be an undercover police officer.
Reuben Garcia, 56, was arrested in June 2021 on a charge of online solicitation of a minor with intent to meet for sexual contact. Evidence showed Garcia sent several sexually explicit communications to a person he believed was a 16-year-old girl named “Bekky” on the message site Mocospace. Garcia arranged to meet the girl to have sex with her. That’s when he learned “Bekky” was a San Antonio police officer.
Garcia pled guilty to the offense on Monday in the 186th District Court. He was sentenced to 8 years in prison and must register as a sex offender for 10 years.
“Cases like this should serve as a reminder to parents to know what your child is doing on his or her electronic devices. Predators like this will make friends with your children, gain their trust then make efforts to steal their innocence. This defendant had no idea he was talking to an officer. Had he actually been communicating with a teenage girl, there’s no telling how this would have ended,” said Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales.
Assistant District Attorney Raul Jordan of the Public Integrity and Cyber Crime Division prosecuted this case.