West Texas man sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison for transporting a minor child with intent to engage in sexual activity

LUBBOCK, Texas — A West Texas man was sentenced Friday by Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 135 months in federal prison for transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

This sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.

Marcos Daniel Chairez, 26, of Lubbock, Texas, has been in custody since his arrest on other charges in October 2015. Chairez pleaded guilty in March 2016 to one count of transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

According to documents filed in this case, in December 2010, Chairez traveled from El Paso, Texas, to West Monroe, Louisiana, to transport a minor child from Louisiana to his residence at the time in El Paso, where he planned to engage in sexual activity with her. During this trip, Chairez drove through the Northern District of Texas. Chairez had been communicating with the minor for about two years. After arriving at his residence in El Paso, Chairez acted on his intent to engage in sexual activity with the minor.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy, Northern District of Texas, was in charge of the prosecution.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.