SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A prior sex offender in Carthage, Missouri, who impregnated a 14-year-old victim, was sentenced in federal court Tuesday, June 23, for the sexual exploitation of a child.
Victor Alfonso Vasquez, 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 33 years and nine months in federal prison without parole.
On Dec. 16, 2019, Vasquez pleaded guilty to the sexual exploitation of a child. Vasquez is a prior sex offender with prior felony convictions for statutory rape and statutory sodomy. This federal crime was committed a few months after his release from state prison.
The investigation began when the 14-year-old victim, identified in court documents as “Jane Doe,” visited a health clinic for a pregnancy test, which indicated she was more than eight weeks pregnant. The victim told investigators she met Vasquez while playing a game on her cell phone when she was 13 years old. Vasquez then began contacting her via Facebook Messenger. They also exchanged sexually explicit images via SnapChat. During their online relationship, Vasquez discussed having a sexual relationship with Jane Doe, and he discussed physically meeting her to have sex.
On Jan. 19, 2018, Jane Doe lied to her mother at Vasquez’s direction and asked her mother to drop her off at a friend’s house. Her mother actually dropped her off at Vasquez’s residence, when Vasquez began a physical relationship with the child victim that lasted for several months.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the FBI, the Joplin, Mo., Police Department, and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.
