A Victorville man has been convicted on multiple federal charges after transporting a 15-year-old girl from San Luis Obispo County to Mexico for illegal sexual activity, according to the Justice Department.
Daniel Navarro, 41, was found guilty of two counts of sexual exploitation of a child for producing sexually explicit images, one count of attempted enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, one count of transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of transportation of child pornography. The verdict came at the end of a four-day trial.
Navarro had posed online as “Angel,” claiming to be a teenage boy. He developed an online relationship with the victim—an Arizona resident spending her summer in Nipomo—and persuaded her into a sexual relationship. Authorities said he transported her across state lines and into Tijuana just before her quinceañera.
Navarro was arrested in July 2022 while re-entering the United States from Mexico ten days after taking the victim there. Mexican authorities rescued the girl from a residence in Tijuana following his arrest. Navarro remains in federal custody.
Evidence presented during the trial included Instagram conversations between Navarro and the victim where he professed love and discussed plans to have sex with her and impregnate her. Investigators also found that Navarro distributed child pornography to this minor through Instagram and carried such material on his phone during travel between Tijuana and San Luis Obispo County. The trial further revealed that Navarro used Instagram to persuade another minor victim to send him sexual images.
United States District Judge André Birotte Jr. set sentencing for October 24. Navarro faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and could receive up to life imprisonment.
The FBI and San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation, with assistance from the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office, FBI Legal Attaché in Mexico City, Mexican law enforcement authorities, and DHS Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin Reidy (Major Frauds Section) and Kathy Yu are prosecuting the case.
