RIVERSIDE, California – A Murrieta man pleaded guilty this afternoon to a federal offense of traveling to Britain to engage in illegal sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl.

Derek Lorenzo Longoria, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. When he pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Jesus G. Bernal, Longoria admitted that he made a video recording of sexual contact he had with the girl.

In a plea agreement filed in this case, Longoria admitted traveling to the United Kingdom in September 2011, and again in January 2012, for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with a girl he knew was under the age of 16. During the trip in early 2012, Longoria, who was 23 at the time, engaged in sexual activity with the girl and used his smartphone to video record the incident.

Longoria used the internet and telephone calls to communicate with the victim over a two-year period, during which he convinced the victim to take sexually explicit photos and videos of herself, which she then sent to Longoria. In his plea agreement, Longoria admitted that he knowingly possessed a child pornography video depicting another victim. Federal investigators discovered this child pornography when they searched Longoria's residence in March 2015 after the victim contacted law enforcement authorities in Britain.

After Longoria pleaded guilty, Judge Bernal scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 7. The parties agreed in the plea agreement that a sentence of between seven years and 10 years in prison is appropriate, but the court is not obligated to follow that recommendation.

Once he is released from custody, Longoria will be required to register as a sex offender.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant United States Attorney Joseph B. Widman, chief of the Riverside Branch Office, is litigating this case.

Component(s): USAO – California, Central

Contact: Thom Mrozek Spokesperson/Public Affairs Officer United States Attorney's Office Central District of California (Los Angeles) 213-894-6947

Press Release Number: 18-019Updated February 6, 2018

Central District of California DOJ / 18-019 / February 5, 2018