LUBBOCK, TX—Amadeo Cruz Torres, 24, of Lubbock, Texas, was sentenced this morning to 15 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in June 2015 to one count of production of child pornography.
Torres has been in custody since his arrest in June 2014.
According to FBI documents filed in the case, Torres met the teenage minor, “Jane Doe,” at South Plains Mall in Lubbock on June 17, 2014, after he had been communicating with her online, via Facebook, about the possibility of modeling. Torres first represented himself to be a female modeling agent named “Amber.”
The teenage victim’s mother took Jane Doe to the mall to meet the supposed modeling scout. Jane Doe was advised that she would be meeting with “Shane,” the defendant. Jane Doe was advised to meet with Torres without a parent or friend to minimize distractions.
After meeting with Jane Doe in the mall’s food court, Torres took her to a family restroom and locked the door. He took a video of her while he instructed her to engage in various poses.
Eventually, Torres directed her to disrobe completely so that he could film a nude video. At one point during the “modeling session,” Torres convinced her to let him touch her in a sexually explicit manner to verify that she was not hiding drugs, the FBI said in a news release.
Torres was arrested the following day at South Plains Mall where he had gone to meet another minor female. Officers seized his video camera, cell phone and tablet computer.
