Ex-deputy sheriff pleads guilty to exploiting young girl

By The Associated Press

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP)– A former deputy sheriff from Texas has pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting a young girl from Massachusetts he met while playing an online game, starting when she was 12 years old.

Masslive.com reports that 26-year-old Pasquale Salas pleaded guilty Thursday via video conference in federal court in Worcester to cyberstalking and sexual exploitation of a minor.

Prosecutors say the former deputy sheriff with the Matagorda County Sheriff’s Office met the Worcester County girl in 2014 while playing the video game Minecraft.

Prosecutors say he coerced her into sending him sexually explicit videos and images of herself. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 3.

©The Associated Press 2020