JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A former Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office detective has pleaded guilty to enticing a minor to engage in sex.
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Action News Jax first brought you the breaking news in May when Josué Garriga III, 34, St. Augustine, was arrested in Clay County and accused of meeting up with a 17-year-old girl for illegal sexual acts.
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On Tue., July 16, 2024, Garriga pleaded guilty in a Middle District of Florida courtroom.
At the time of his arrest, Garriga was a JSO detective with the gang unit. Newly released court documents confirm that he met with the 17-year-old victim at a church in 2023. The former detective pursued a sexual relationship with the child until March 2024.
“At some point, Garriga used his JSO-issued cell phone and an undercover Instagram account to reach out to the child victim and obtained her phone number,” court documents read. “Garriga then used his personal cell phone to communicate with the child victim, directing their messages to an end-to-end encrypted app set to automatically delete the messages after 24 hours.”
RELATED: Former JSO officer indicted by federal grand jury
Court documents detailed Garriga’s requests for nude photos from the victim. He also sent her nude photos of himself.
Additional details include:
- FaceTime more than 120 times, including when the child victim showered.
- Requested a live stream of the victim during sexual acts.
- Used a JSO work vehicle to travel to the victim’s neighborhood.
- Met the child victim at a coffee shop in Clay and “enticed her to his JSO work vehicle where he engaged in unlawful sexual activity.”
- Refused to let the victim leave his car.
Garriga faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in federal prison. Once released, he will be required to register as a sex offender and serve a supervised release of at least five years.
Garriga still faces state charges for the same crime. He is expected back in court on August 15.
A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
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