EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A 31-year-old Florida man was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison for attempting to engage in sexual activity with a local underage girl he met on the internet.
According to prosecutors, Emmanuel Abdon met a 13-year-old Troy, Illinois girl online between December 2017 and January 2018. He also carried conversations with the child via text messaging, FaceTime, and Snapchat, enticing the girl to have sex with him when he visited. At the time, Abdon told the girl he was 24 years of age.
Abdon arrived at the girl’s home on January 13, 2018, and would make two additional visits to her home. During the second meeting, Abdon brought the girl cigars, a lighter, jewelry, and a sex toy. He was arrested in the driveway of the home on his last trip to the girl’s residence.
Troy police became aware of the situation when the victim’s 14-year-old friend told her own mother about the incident. The friend was with the victim the first time Abdon came to the house. The friend’s mother then contacted the Troy Police Department, who launched an investigation.
Officers learned Abdon had rented a motel room about a mile from the victim’s home and established surveillance of that location. Police eventually apprehended Abdon and questioned him. In a videotaped statement, Abdon admitted to receiving nude images of the victim and said he knew she was underage prior to traveling to Illinois to meet her.
Abdon’s first trial occurred in July 2018 and ended in a mistrial. The case was retried in November 2018 and a federal grand jury convicted Abdon of enticement of a minor and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
Abdon was born in Haiti and living in the United States as a lawful permanent resident. He’s expected to be deported back to Haiti when he’s completed his sentence.
