Texas Man Sentenced to 17 Years for Traveling to Virginia to Have Sex with Minor

The Eastern District of Virginia has taken down a Texas man who traveled to Virginia to have sex with a minor. Elisha Jason Albert, 25, of Garland, Texas, was sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison for his crimes.

According to court documents, Albert began communicating with a 15-year-old victim through Snapchat in August 2023. He solicited pornographic material from the victim and even sent the victim spending money for incidental expenses. The victim’s guardian submitted an online tip to the FBI, which led to Albert’s arrest in September 2023.

At the time of his arrest, Albert had with him his phone, which contained a folder titled “good videos” that stored sixty-four videos of children as young as four to six years old engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Albert’s phone also had iMessage communications with other minors between fifteen and sixteen years old, which included additional production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and incidents of coercion and enticement.

Albert had a history of similar crimes, dating back to August 2021, when he engaged with a victim in Texas knowing that she was only 15 years old. He drove to the victim’s home and had sex with her on multiple occasions. Albert even made a video recording of one of his sexual encounters with the victim, which was still on his phone at the time of his arrest.

On February 1, Albert pled guilty to production of child pornography, attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and transportation of child pornography. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura D. Withers and Zoe Bedell prosecuted the case.

The Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the case, which 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.

U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff handed down the sentence. Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and David J. Scott, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, made the announcement.

The case serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of child exploitation and the importance of the public’s role in reporting suspicious activity. As the Eastern District of Virginia continues to work to combat these crimes, the Grimy Times will remain committed to shedding light on the darkest corners of the justice system.