Arlington Man Sentenced for Coercion and Sexual Abuse of a Child

 RICHMOND, Va. – An Arlington man was sentenced today to over 15 years in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor in the Richmond area.

“We must do everything possible to protect our children from dangerous sexual predators like Jose Parra-Camargo,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Child sexual abuse is a horrific and abhorrent crime. I want to thank our law enforcement partners and prosecutors for ensuring that Parra-Camargo will now be in a place where he cannot prey on our most vulnerable victims.”

According to court documents, Parra-Camargo, 45, solicited a 14 year-old female in the Richmond area for sex on numerous occasions in 2016 and 2017 over the Internet application “Kik.” As part of this conduct, he directed her to send him pornographic images of herself. On two occasions, Camargo drove to Richmond from his residence in Arlington and had sex with the minor victim after convincing her to sneak out of her house. 

“Child predators often use the Internet to gain the trust of vulnerable children and exploit it for their own gratification. They are a true danger to our children, communities, and society,” said David W. Archey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office. “Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement partners and the men and women of the Richmond Child Exploitation Task Force this predator has been taken off the streets and can no longer victimize our children.”

Around the same time, Parra-Camargo was additionally chatting with an undercover officer from the Loudoun County, Virginia Police Department who was posing as a 14 year-old girl. After also soliciting the undercover officer for sex, Loudoun County officers arrested Parra-Camargo. He pled guilty in 2017 in a separate state prosecution in Loudoun County Circuit Court to use of a communications system to solicit a minor and received a five-year term of imprisonment, which he will continue to serve out prior to beginning his term of federal imprisonment.

“A strong sentence like this sends an important message that individuals who try to exploit children and rob them of their innocence will be brought to justice,” said Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia. “I want to thank my team for their hard work on this case, as well as our state and federal partners for their continued partnership in working to bring justice to those who would harm or take advantage of children.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit: www.justice.gov/psc.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; David W. Archey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; and Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexaundra Williams and Gene Fishel prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:20-cr-4.