YMCA Counselor Joseph Anthony Garcia of Miami, Florida was arrested on Monday for allegedly attempting to force a teenage boy to send him nude pictures, police say.
Garcia, 18, faces charges of promoting the sexual performance of a child, traveling to meet a minor for sex, possession of an image or video showing the sexual performance of a child, possession of obscene materials depicting a minor, and using a computer to misrepresent his age. It is unclear if he has acquired an attorney.
According to the arrest report, Garcia posed as a 16-year-old girl named Kathy and began chatting with the victim. Police say Garcia and the victim exchanged messages about sexual acts they would like to perform on each other.
The victim reportedly became frightened after Garcia started using threats to coerce him into sending nude pictures. He threatened to forward the nude pictures of the victim he already had to the victim’s family. The victim asked Garcia not to harm him and Garcia replied, “I won’t harm you unless you give me a reason.”
The victim told Garcia to leave him alone and he responded, “I won’t, especially since I still have your mom’s phone number, and you wouldn’t want mommy to know, right? So you will listen to me.”
Investigators said Garcia eventually promised to leave the victim alone and delete all the nude pictures, but only if he agreed to have a threesome with him. The victim contacted the police and an undercover detective posed as the teen and continued communicating with Garcia.
They arranged to meet at a local McDonald’s and then go back to Garcia’s home. Garcia was arrested at the location on Monday.
A YMCA spokesperson told the press Garcia has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation. It is unclear which YMCA location he worked at.
“The safety and well-being of all kids in our programs is our first priority,” the spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday. “To ensure the safety of our students, the YMCA adheres to all background screening requirements by the Department of Children and Families and the School Board of Miami-Dade County. Upon arrest, the staff person was immediately suspended, pending further investigation. We are cooperating fully with Miami-Dade police as they continue to investigate the situation.”
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Source: 12.4.18 YMCA counselor accused of forcing teenage boy to send him nude photos.pdf