JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A now-former employee of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office accused of sending nude images and videos to a teenager has pleaded guilty to attempted online enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Alejandro Carmona-Fonseca, 48, of Green Cove Springs, is no longer an officer with JSO.
According to Clay County Undersheriff Ron Lendvay, a boy, who was 16 at the time, met Carmona-Fonseca at a gym. Investigators said that nothing happened at the gym and that the offenses he’s accused of occurred online.
“The victim believed he was going to get workout advice via Snapchat, but instead started to get unusual requests to send pictures of himself to the suspect with his shirt off,” Lendvay said. “After a few months of Snapchatting, the suspect sent lewd pictures of himself, including photos and videos featuring full frontal nudity that also included the suspect’s face.”
According to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, when the teen came forward to deputies, an undercover deputy then pretended to be the victim online.
“During the undercover chats, the suspect verified that he knew the victim was underage and had just turned 17,” Lendvay said.
According to federal prosecutors, during those conversations, Carmona-Fonseca sent a video of himself in his police uniform and another in which he was nude. Carmona-Fonseca also made several requests for nude videos of the teen flexing and said that everything stayed between them, and that because it was Snapchat, it would disappear.
Technology expert Chris Hamer says the messages could still be recovered.
“Once you send it, you lose control of it. It’s on the internet. It’s in somebody else’s device. They can capture and manipulate it,” Hamer said.
Lori Osachy, a psychologist, says many predators hold positions of power.
“Children are taught to trust and obey authority, which is a good thing up to a point,” Osachy said. “But it can hurt children when they don’t listen to their own inner alarm that tells them something is wrong.”
Carmona-Fonseca faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. He has agreed to pay restitution to all of the victims of his offenses and faces a potential life term of supervised release.