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Press Release

Victorville Man and Alleged Accomplice Face Federal Charges of Transporting 15-Year-Old Girl to Mexico for Illicit Sexual Activity

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California

          LOS ANGELES – A Southern California man who posed online as a teenage boy and enticed a 15-year-old girl to have a sexual relationship before bringing her to Mexico is scheduled to make his first court appearance tomorrow to face federal charges of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

          Daniel Navarro, who sometimes posed online as “Angel,” 38, of Victorville, was named Monday night in a federal criminal complaint that also charges a woman who allegedly helped Navarro contact minors and who apparently drove Navarro and the 15-year-old girl to Tijuana on July 1, the night before the girl’s scheduled quinceañera.

          Navarro and his alleged accomplice – Julie Le, 20, of Garden Grove – were arrested Sunday night pursuant to state court warrants as they entered the United States from Mexico – 10 days after allegedly bringing the victim to Mexico. Both defendants are expected to appear tomorrow in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

          The victim in this case – an Arizona girl identified in court documents as “A.T.” who was spending the summer in the Central Coast town of Nipomo – was rescued Monday morning from a residence in Tijuana by Mexican authorities.

          According to an affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Navarro had an online relationship with the victim for the past year. “A review of one of Navarro’s Instagram accounts, ‘dn.2021.01,’ revealed conversations between Navarro and A.T. on A.T.’s Instagram account in which Navarro professed his love for A.T. and discussed having sex with A.T. in order to impregnate her,” according to the affidavit.

          The affidavit states that Navarro used social media in attempt to convince one of A.T.’s relatives to run away with him, and that Navarro tried to entice other teenage girls to send him sexual images.

            On July 1, Navarro and Le entered Mexico with A.T. hidden in the backseat, according to the affidavit.

          A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

          The charge of transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity with a minor carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a potential sentence of life without parole.

          The FBI and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office are investigating this matter. The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office provided substantial assistance. The FBI’s Legal Attaché in Mexico City and Mexican law enforcement authorities provided assistance during this investigation.

          Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Reidy of the Violent and Organized Crime Section is prosecuting this case.

Contact

Thom Mrozek
Director of Media Relations
thom.mrozek@usdoj.gov
(213) 894-6947

Updated July 12, 2022

Topic
Project Safe Childhood
Press Release Number: 22-138