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Illinois man sentenced for illicit sexual activity

Posted at 4:20 PM, Aug 15, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-15 19:23:57-04

An Illinois man has been sentenced to 96 months in prison for attempting to travel to Mexico and engage in child sex tourism.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, 21-year-old Asael Rodriguez-Alvarado negotiated and planned a trip to Mexico in order to engage in commercial sex acts with children between ages nine to eleven-years-old.  

He traveled from Chicago to Arizona and was arrested after purchasing presents for the children at a store in Tucson.

“This sentence should serve as a powerful deterrent to child predators who mistakenly believe they can make international travel arrangements to indulge their perverse desires with impunity,” said Scott Brown, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Phoenix.  “The sexual exploitation of children is a despicable crime and, as this sentence makes clear, there are serious consequences for those convicted.  HSI will continue to work closely with its law enforcement partners here in the U.S. and around the world to hold these dangerous sexual predators accountable for their actions.”