DALLAS — Two North Texas men have been sentenced to federal prison in separate cases involving child exploitation violations.
According to the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas, 35-year-old Justin Mark Jones of Dallas pleaded guilty to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor.
On Aug. 27, Jones was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
Officials said Jones began communicating with a child he believed to be 13 years old on a social media app back in October 2022. Jones asked the minor for a photograph and whether they “could have a little naughty chat.”
For more than 6 months, Jones and the 13-year-old communicated on multiple social media platforms, during which Jones repeatedly raised sexually explicit topics of conversation, officials said in a news release. Authorities said Jones would initiate topics surrounding sex toys and the types of sex acts the two could perform on and with one another.
On May 17, 2023, Jones traveled to Plano to meet the child for sex, officials said. They said Jones arrived with a backpack containing sexual objects and condoms.
The Plano Police Department and the FBI-Dallas Crimes Against Children Human Trafficking Task Force led the investigation that led to Jones' arrest.
In a separate case, Eric Victor Henry Blood, 44, of Carrollton, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Aug. 27. He was convicted on three counts of transportation of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
According to information presented in court, Blood came to the attention of law enforcement when an internet-based communications, storage, and email platform reported his email address had been used to upload images and videos of child pornography onto the company’s platform on multiple occasions.
Homeland Security Investigations special agents served a federal search warrant at Blood’s Carrollton home back in May 2022. Federal officials said he admitted to using that account.
Agents located child pornography files on multiple devices owned by Blood, including "depictions of prepubescent minors and the violent sexual abuse of minors."
Blood's case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marisa Miller and Lesley Brooks.
