A Mexican national has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for sexually abusing a minor, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey handed down the sentence on Wednesday to Giovanni Falcon, 41. Prosecutors said Falcon began communicating with a 15-year-old girl on Instagram in 2024 under an alias. In July and August of that year, he sent her images of his genitals and then engaged in repeated sexual contact with her.
The case came to light after the victim’s father found explicit messages on Instagram and contacted the St. Ann Police Department on August 13, 2024. Police arrested Falcon the next day, and he admitted to sexually abusing the victim.
During Wednesday’s hearing, it was also stated that another juvenile had alleged sexual abuse by Falcon several years earlier.
Falcon is not legally present in the United States and will be deported after serving his prison term.
He pleaded guilty in September in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to charges including transfer of obscene material to a minor and coercion and enticement of a minor.
The investigation involved U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the St. Ann Police Department, and the St. Louis County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson prosecuted the case.
“This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse,” officials said in a statement. “Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.”
More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
