Man sentenced to 122 years in FB prostitution pandering case
A Hemet man has been sentenced to 122 years and 8 months to life in prison after being charged with 61 felonies in connection to a fictitious Facebook prostitution pandering scheme where he contacted young-looking and underage females throughout Southern California, including the Coachella Valley.
Read: Shadow Hills HS student tips lead to sex trafficking arrest
Eliberto Cruz Jacobo, 44, was arrested on March 17 after a search warrant was served at his home in the 1300 block of Cinnabar Avenue in Hemet. Authorities said he’s accused of contacting approximately 120 girls through the misleading Facebook account he set up using the name ‘Marlissa Garcia’.
KESQ News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 were at the courthouse when Jacobo was sentenced Friday morning at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Jacobo’s attorney indicated she planned on filing a notice of appeal in 60 days. Jacobo himself appeared in an orange jumpsuit and remained silent until he asked questions to the judge regarding the appeals process.
Jacobo was sentenced Friday morning to an indeterminate term of 105 years to life plus a determinate term of 17 years and eight months. Prosecutors said Jacobo 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 jurors in her opening statement. “(Jacobo) actively tried to recruit young minors to engage in prostitution.”
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.
“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, according to prosecutors. The girls told deputies that “Marlissa Garcia” had worked to recruit them on Facebook for prostitution.
Jacobo was taken into custody in early 2015.
At sentencing, Paixao called Jacobo a “true predator” that exploited the weaknesses and trust of his young victims, many of whom planned to appear at the hearing or have letters read to the court, but canceled at the last second.
Jacobo’s attorney, Kimberly Allee, notified the court that she would be filing a notice of appeal.
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