A man from Texas was taken into custody for trying to acquire explicit images of a minor in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, according to officials.
Indiana County’s District Attorney, Robert Manzi, stated in a Thursday news release that Marcoctavio Romero, from San Antonio, has been charged with transferring or attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor, as well as coercion and enticement of a minor, or an attempt. The charges were submitted in a federal court in Texas.
Officials stated in the news release that the victim’s family filed a report with the Blairsville Borough Police Department, indicating that an unidentified man was communicating with the minor victim via Roblox and Instagram. Roblox is a widely used gaming platform and application targeted at younger audiences, enabling users to design their own games.
The prosecutor’s office stated that the suspect shared explicit pictures of himself with the victim and subsequently requested the minor to send comparable images. The victim’s family later notified the authorities about the incident.
Search warrants were secured for Instagram, Roblox, Google, and a bank account, as stated by the district attorney’s office. This data helped authorities locate Romero, according to officials.
There was no direct interaction between the Texas individual and the minor, except through online means, Manzi stated.
“Anyone trying to harm children deserves the full extent of the law. I appreciate the victim and their family for coming forward with this information, allowing the offender to be arrested and charged,” Manzi stated in the news release on Thursday.
The Blairsville police department, the Indiana County Detectives Bureau, and the San Antonio FBI field office collaborated on the investigation.
Blairsville lies approximately 40 miles to the east of Pittsburgh.
