Stockton Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking of a Child

 SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Angel Jesus Sanchez-Manriquez, 22, of Stockton, pleaded guilty today to sex trafficking of a child, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, between October and December 2020, Sanchez-Manriquez posted approximately 70 advertisements on a prostitution website, each of which contained images of a 16-year-old victim and advertised the victim’s availability to perform commercial sex acts for sex buyers. Sanchez-Manriquez paid for motel rooms in and around the Stockton area for that purpose. Following execution of search warrants, law enforcement agents determined that Sanchez-Manriquez also used his cellphone to record images and videos of his victim engaged in sexual acts with adults such as himself.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Fogerty and Sam Stefanki are prosecuting the case.

Sanchez-Manriquez is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley on Dec. 2, 2021. Sanchez-Manriquez faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison (with a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison), a $250,000 fine, and a lifetime term of supervised release. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

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. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.