A New York man was sentenced to 24 years in prison for attempting to entice a minor and traveling from New York to New Jersey to meet an individual, whom he believed was a 13-year-old girl, to engage in sexual activity, U.S Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Federal officials said Eduardo Silva, 44, of Bronx, New York, previously pleaded guilty via videoconference before U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb to an information charging him with one count of coercion and enticement of a minor and one count traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.
Judge Bumb imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Sept. 5, 2020, Silva, while using an online social media application, sent a message to an individual he believed was an underage girl, but who was in fact an undercover federal agent.
Silva asked whether the minor was “into older guys” and over the next several days sent a series of explicit online communications and text messages, discussing his intent to travel to meet the minor and engage in sexual activity with her.
On Sept. 23, 2020, Silva was arrested when he traveled from the Bronx to a motel in Bordentown, New Jersey, intending to meet a 13-year-old girl for sex.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Bumb sentenced Silva to lifetime supervised release.