DOJ: Fresno man pleads guilty to actual, attempted coercion of minor

Cristina Lombardo
·1 min read
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FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A Fresno man pleaded guilty to one count of attempted coercion of a minor and one count of enticement of a minor on Monday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to documents, 29-year-old, Christopher Contreras of Fresno used the messaging application, Skout, Snapchat and texting to engage in sexually explicit communications for approximately one week with a person he believed to be a 13-year-old female.

The DOJ says he then traveled to a location in Fresno in July 2020, to meet the purported minor for sexual activity. He was actually talking to undercover law enforcement officers.

Contreras was booked into the Fresno County Jail where he was released on bail, according to the DOJ.

On Oct. 13, 2020, law enforcement officers responded to a call about a missing juvenile. An investigation confirmed that Contreras picked the juvenile up at a location in Fresno after making arrangements through messages on the Meet Me application. Contreras was arrested for numerous felony violations of California law and was booked again at the Fresno County Jail.

The DOJ says he was later charged federally in that case and has been in federal custody since June 10, 2021.

According to the DOJ Contreras is scheduled to be sentenced on April 1, 2024. Contreras faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and up to a life term of supervised release for each of the two counts.

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