Registered offender was still up to no good
Man used daughter’s photo to lure boys under 16 for sex
Convicted of sex crimes in California before he moved to Grant County in southern New Mexico, Michael Ray Sepulveda was following all the sex offender registry rules in his new home state.
That doesn’t mean he wasn’t up to no good.
According to the FBI, Sepulveda used his daughter’s photograph on a Facebook page to meet boys under the age of 16. Once a friendship was established, he had them send nude photos to the female avatar he had created.
Once he had them compromised, Sepulveda revealed his real persona and tried to arrange to have sex with the boys.
This did not sit well with adult relatives of two of the boys, who laid a trap for Sepulveda at what he thought was going to be a sexual encounter.
Instead, the 38-year-old registered sex offender thought he was about to be beaten, if not killed, when he called 911 in Silver City for help.
When police arrived and heard Sepulveda’s story, they took him into custody and notified the New Mexico Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit (ICAC), which coordinates local and federal law enforcement agencies investigating a wide variety of internet sex crimes.
The FBI was called in to take over the case.
At least four youngsters fell, at least partially, into his trap according to court records filed by federal investigators.
The entire time Sepulveda was online arranging his sex crimes, he was abiding by federal and state law by registering as a sex offender for a 2006 conviction in San Bernadino County in California for committing lewd acts with a child, under 16 years of age.
He pleaded guilty to federal charges and now faces more than 20 years in federal prison for child exploitation and child pornography.