Man Enters Plea to More Charges in Internet Sex Sting
A Norwalk business executive pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court to charges that he traveled across state lines with the intent of engaging in sex with a minor in Huntington Beach, a prosecutor said Monday.
The arraignment marked the second time that Edward Rodriguez, chief financial officer for Norwalk-based Fruit-a-Freeze, has been charged in an October 1996 incident in which police said Rodriguez used the Internet to set up a sexual encounter with someone he believed was a 12-year-old boy.
But the encounter was actually a setup by Huntington Beach police. Rodriguez, then a Pennsylvania resident, was arrested after flying to Orange County, where he was supposed to meet the boy.
Rodriguez was originally charged in state court. He pleaded guilty to felony charges, including soliciting a lewd act with a child and two counts of attempted lewd conduct with a child.
He was sentenced to 18 months in prison but was released after serving eight months.
The U.S. Department of Justice took the unusual step of filing federal charges in connection with the same incident.
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