From staff reports

A Honduran native residing between Louisiana and Tennessee has pleaded guilty to transporting a 12-year-old girl out of state for sex.

Elvin Castron-Murcia, 20, entered a plea for illicit sexual conduct and transporting a minor for criminal sexual activity, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida

In May 2018, the victim went missing from Navarre after her mother discovered her communicating on Facebook with a 19-year-old male using the name “Elvin C. Murcia.” Several neighbors reported seeing a black Honda Civic with Tennessee license tags parked near the victim's home, according to the release.

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A search of the victim's cellphone and Instagram social media account revealed images of her in a vehicle with a male who appeared to be the same person using Murcia’s Facebook account.

The next day, the victim’s mother was able to communicate with her daughter via Facebook Messenger, and law enforcement officers determined the victim was using a phone located in Tennessee.

A state trooper soon observed the black Honda Civic with Tennessee tags and stopped the vehicle in Alabama. The victim was identified as the vehicle passenger, and Murcia, who was using a license issued in a stolen identity, was later identified as the driver.

Images and videos on Murcia’s phone located after a forensic examination confirmed that Murcia and the juvenile were in an online relationship that began when she was just 11 years old. Law enforcement officers were able to obtain pharmacy video in Tennessee depicting Murcia purchasing birth control with the victim the day before the traffic stop and subsequent arrest of Murcia.

Later in May, law enforcement officers confirmed that Murcia was illegally present in the United States and that the identity he was utilizing was that of a true citizen of Puerto Rico.

Castron-Murcia is being detained while awaiting his sentencing at 9 a.m. May 20 at the U.S. Courthouse in Pensacola. Castron-Murcia faces a maximum of 30 years in prison for the traveling for illicit sexual conduct and a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison for the transporting a minor for criminal sexual activity charge.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Goldberg is prosecuting the case.