A 35-year-old man from Texas has been sentenced to 14 years in jail following his conviction on child exploitation and luring charges involving a 14-year- old girl from Quinte West.
Jonathan Flora of New Braunfels Texas must also serve 15 years of supervised release in Texas.
A joint investigation between the Texas police service and Quinte West OPP started in the spring of 2019.
The two met through video games in 2018 and then communications involving nude photos and other sexual content intensified by phone.
Flora had purchased a cell phone with a Canadian area code and impersonated a classmate of the victim.
He was sentenced November 29. Quinte West OPP continue to have an outstanding warrant for his arrest on similar sex-related charges.
BELOW IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM QUINTE WEST OPP.
The Quinte West OPP, in partnership with the United States Homeland Security (San Antonio Division) and the New Braunfels Police Department (Texas), took part in a cross-border child luring investigation.
In April of 2019, Quinte West OPP, including members of the Quinte West Crime Unit commenced a child exploitation material/child luring investigation. The victim, who was under the age of 14 and a resident of Quinte West, met the 30-year-old accused from Texas, while playing a popular online game. A joint investigation led to the arrest of an individual. On November 29, 2023, a San Antonio court sentenced the accused to 14 years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release.
Jonathan Flora, 35 years old from New Braunfels Texas, has an outstanding warrant held by the Quinte West OPP for the following offences:
- Possession of child pornography
- Transmit sexually explicit material to a person under 14 years of age
- Invitation to sexual touching under 16 years of age
- Makes, prints, publishes or possess for the purpose of publication child pornography
- Luring person under 14 years of age by means of telecommunication
The OPP is committed to doing everything in its power to reduce the number of child predators and the threats they pose to our children and our communities. It is important for parents and caregivers to be aware of what their children do online and speak to their children about staying safe. Visit Canadian Centre for Child Protection for information and resources.
BELOW IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
A New Braunfels man was sentenced in a federal court in San Antonio to 168 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for the receipt of child pornography.
According to court documents, Jonathan Travis Flora, 35, met a Canadian minor in July 2018 while playing an online video game. Knowing each other’s ages, the two held conversations that were often sexual in nature and exchanged nude photos and videos of themselves through gaming communication features as well as a phone messaging application.
In March 2019, Flora purchased a cell phone with a Canadian area code in order to continue communicating with the child victim under the guise that Flora was a classmate. The following month, the victim’s father received an unusually high phone bill and found that the child had exchanged more than 2,000 phone messages in a 15-day period. The victim then disclosed her interactions with Flora and the Ontario Provincial Police initiated an investigation.
“Preying on children will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “This case reminds us that sexual predators can be found lurking in a multitude of places, including online video games, but it also shows the dedication shared by federal, state and international law enforcement to protect children and aggressively pursue those predators who manipulate them and prey upon their innocence.”
“Individuals who commit crimes against children will be investigated and brought to justice by Homeland Security Investigations,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee for HSI San Antonio Division. “This case highlights the importance of cooperation between law enforcement entities, domestically and globally, to pursue criminals who target children.”
HSI, the New Braunfels Police Department and the Ontario Provincial Police investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Thompson prosecuted the case.
