A man from Long Beach who was arrested on allegations that he met a 14-year-old Arizona girl online, drove her to his home and had sex with her, has pleaded guilty to federal charges.
Trevon Nathaniel Langstaff, 33, was arrested at his Long Beach apartment in March after the girl was found inside his home.
Days before his arrest, Langstaff drove to Peoria, Arizona to pick up the girl, who he met on Reddit, knowing she was underage.
He drove her from Arizona to California, where he “engaged in criminal sexual activity with her,” the United States Department of Justice announced Friday. The age of consent in California is 18.
The girl’s family reported her missing after searching their neighborhood and speaking with her friends, at which point they learned she had been talking to a man she met online who said he “harbored” teenagers.
After his arrest, authorities searched Langstaff’s phone, where they discovered images of
“two children engaged in sexually explicit activity,” the DOJ said.
Langstaff pleaded guilty to one count of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, officials said.
“Every day, sexual predators use the internet’s relative anonymity to prey on vulnerable youth,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Would-be predators should be aware that my office will use all of its tools to bring them to justice, and, as today’s sentence shows, the consequences will be severe.”
He is expected to appear in court next March, at which point he will face a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Long Beach Police Department.