Man faces life sentencing for soliciting teen prostitution over Facebook

A Hemet man who posed as a woman on Facebook and solicited women and teenage girls to engage in sex acts for money, including two high school students from Indio who disclosed his activities to authorities, is scheduled to be sentenced to life in prison Friday.

Read: Local students’ tip leads to sex trafficking arrest

Eliberto Cruz Jacobo was convicted in March of 60 felony counts, including human trafficking of a minor, inducing or persuading a minor to engage in a commercial sex act, statutory rape and possession of child pornography, involving seven underage victims. Jurors deliberated for about one day before returning guilty verdicts on all counts.

(Watch KESQ & CBS Local 2 Katie Widner’s report from March)

Prosecutors said Jacobo, 46, posed as “Marlissa Garcia” on Facebook and engaged in conversations with numerous women and teenage girls ranging in age from 14 to 31, suggesting they could make money as escorts.

According to Deputy District Attorney Samantha Paixao, “Marlissa Garcia” would continue to recommend that the victims pursue prostitution, even if they said they were minors.

“There was no miscommunication between `Marlissa Garcia’ and the girls in regards to what they would be doing to make money,” Paixao told the jury. “(Jacobo) actively tried to recruit young minors to engage in prostitution.”

Read: More Crime Headlines around the Coachella Valley

Prosecutors said some of the victims did end up engaging in prostitution with a client known as “Robert,” later identified as Jacobo. Sheriff’s deputies tracked the messages from “Marlissa Garcia” to an IP address at the defendant’s home, where deputies found photos and videos on his computer of minors engaged in sex acts with Jacobo.

Some of the juveniles also pointed “Robert” out to detectives when shown a photographic lineup of suspects, the prosecution said.

According to the prosecutor’s trial brief, “Marlissa Garcia” was first brought to the attention of law enforcement in November 2014 by two students at Indio’s Shadow Hills High School following a school presentation on human trafficking. The girls told deputies that “Marlissa Garcia” had worked to recruit them on Facebook for prostitution.

Jacobo was taken into custody in early 2015.

More of today’s Top Stories Cool down in the forecast? Check your First Alert Weather