Joe Medina Pleads Guilty in Child Exploitation Case

Joe Medina, 37, of Rio Rancho, N.M., pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to coercing a 16-year-old girl into crossing state lines for the purpose of sexual activity. The plea, entered in Albuquerque, carries an agreed-upon sentence of eight years in federal prison followed by 15 years of supervised release. Medina remains in custody as authorities prepare for sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled.

The case began unraveling on July 9, 2015, when the victim’s mother filed a missing persons report with the Rio Rancho Police Department. She told investigators that Medina and her daughter had been in contact — contact she shut down when she became suspicious. Days before, on July 7, Medina allegedly called the teen and threatened to kidnap her and kill her mother if he wasn’t allowed to speak with the girl.

According to the criminal complaint filed by the FBI, Medina arrived outside the victim’s home on July 9. Fearful and under duress, the girl agreed to leave with him. The two traveled from Sandoval County, N.M., to Denver, Colo., where they abandoned Medina’s vehicle before boarding a bus. Surveillance and investigative work by multiple law enforcement agencies tracked their path eastward, culminating in their discovery in Indianapolis, Ind.

Medina was arrested on July 20, 2015, on a federal warrant issued in New Mexico. At the time, he and the victim were found on a bus that had stopped in Indianapolis. He was initially held on a New Mexico state warrant and later charged federally. The FBI interviewed the victim on July 13, during which she detailed the threats, the abduction, and the cross-country flight orchestrated by Medina.

In August 2015, a federal grand jury indicted Medina on charges of transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and coercing a minor to produce sexually explicit images. Yesterday, he pled guilty to a felony information specifically charging coercion and enticement of a minor. As part of his plea, Medina admitted to luring the 16-year-old from New Mexico with plans to reach New York for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts.

The investigation was led by the FBI’s Albuquerque office and the Rio Rancho Police Department, with critical support from the Corrales Police Department, Denver Police, the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory, the U.S. Marshals Service, Indiana State Police, and the 13th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mease is prosecuting the case, which falls under Project Safe Childhood — a DOJ initiative targeting child sexual exploitation. More information is available at http://www.justice.gov/psc/.