Iowa Park man arrested for allegedly exchanging sexually explicit messages with teen

IOWA PARK, TX (TNN) - An Iowa Park man has been charged with Sexual Performance by a Child following an investigation that began in April 2018.

According to court documents, on April 7, 2018, the Iowa Park Police Department was contacted by a man from Tennessee who told detectives he believed an Iowa Park man was communicating with his 14-year-old daughter in a sexually explicit manner.

The father told investigators he could see the communications had been occurring since March 2018. He provided Iowa Park PD with the phone number his daughter had been exchanging messages with. An internal records check on the phone number came back to a man named Eric Neil Garcia, 22.

Detectives learned the alleged communications between Garcia and the teen took place on Snapchat between March 28 and April 5, 2018. The parents of the teen said their daughter told them Garcia was told she was only 14-years-old during a FaceTime call that took place between the two of them.

Iowa Park PD worked alongside the Morgan County’s Sheriff’s Department in Tennessee on the investigation. Through these messages, Garcia is accused of attempting to “induce” the teen to engage in sexual conduct.

On July 21, 2018, Garcia came to the Iowa Park PD to speak with officers about the investigation. During the interview, Garcia claimed he met the teen on Instagram because the two engaged with an online sexual role playing group and he was not aware of her age.

Garcia said he never asked the teen for photographs of her and she was the first one to send nude photos, according to court documents. He told police in return he sent photos of himself.

According to Garcia, all photos were exchanged over Snapchat. Garcia was booked into the Wichita Co. Jail on Monday, January 14, and bonded out on Tuesday, January 15.

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