Air Force member pleads guilty in enticement case

A member of the Air Force National Guard caught at a local base trying to entice minors for sex pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Wednesday in San Antonio’s federal court. A member of the Air Force National Guard caught at a local base trying to entice minors for sex pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Wednesday in San Antonio’s federal court. Photo: Tito West /For The San Antonio Express-News Photo: Tito West /For The San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Air Force member pleads guilty in enticement case 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

A member of the Air Force National Guard who authorities say was caught at a local base trying to entice minors for sex pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Wednesday in San Antonio’s federal court.

Robert Bernard Ernst, 37, was arrested in early April at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland by agents with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations on a preliminary enticement charge that carried a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison.

But as part of a quickly negotiated plea deal, Ernst pleaded guilty instead to attempted use of an interstate facility to transmit images of a minor — a charge carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

He also agreed to a term of five years in federal prison when Chief U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia sentences him on Aug. 2.

After the plea, U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard Farrer granted Ernst release on bond, which was also part of an agreement between his assistant federal public defender, Jack Carter and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bettina Richardson.

The judge imposed several conditions, including monitoring by pretrial services officers as Ernst goes into the custody of his mother in Oregon. Ernst’s 17-year-old son was killed in a crash in Medford, Oregon, on April 15 and Ernst wants to say goodbye before the boy is cremated, Carter told the judge.

Ernst admitted to a factual basis included in his plea deal that said he used the handle “DaddyNeedsASecret” on mobile apps to have online, sexually explicit chats with Air Force investigators who posed as girls under 16 years of age. He was arrested April 4 when authorities say he showed up to meet with who he thought was an underage girl for sex.

Richardson told Farrer that if Ernst violates any conditions of bond, “the original charge is back on the table with the 10-year mandatory minimum.”

Guillermo Contreras is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | gcontreras@express-news.net | @gmaninfedland