Former Cop Josue Garriga III Caught in Sick Child Enticement Scandal

Former Cop Caught in Sick Child Enticement Scandal

A former Jacksonville police officer has been arrested and charged with online enticement of a minor, according to a federal complaint.

Josue Garriga III, 34, of Jacksonville, was taken into custody on charges that he met a child victim at church in September 2023 and began pursuing a relationship with her via text messaging and WhatsApp.

Messages recovered from the victim’s phone revealed Garriga sent communications expressing his sexual interest in the child, and he went to the victim’s house late at night on several occasions.

During one encounter on March 6, 2024, Garriga allegedly grabbed the child’s hand, put it down his pants, and requested the child perform oral sex on him. When the child refused, Garriga asked the child to kiss his genitalia and would not let the child leave until the child did so.

Garriga is a former police officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, a fact that raises questions about how he was able to abuse his position of trust.

The case was investigated by the Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force, which includes Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Laura Cofer Taylor and Kelly S. Milliron.

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.

Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

Garriga faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison if convicted. A complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.