A former ambulance driver has been sentenced to eight years in prison after prosecutors say he targeted McHenry County middle school students online and groomed them to send him explicit images.
Victor Meza-Valdez, 26, of Ringwood, New Jersey, was charged in May with three counts of child pornography, two counts of grooming and two counts of enticing a child.
The Lake in the Hills Police Department began investigating in January a report made by a student at a local middle school involving a man contacting the student via Snapchat, prosecutors said.
The Lake in the Hills Police Department identified the minor victim and discovered a second minor victim at a local Huntley middle school.
Prosecutors said the Huntley Police Department referred their investigation to the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office Crimes Against Children Task Force.
The task force conducted an investigation to identify Meza-Valdez as the suspect who had been contacting the two children.
Prosecutors said the task force issued subpoenas to cell phone providers and social media providers, which allowed them to gather evidence showing that Meza-Valdez targeted the young girls on social media.
He then groomed them to send photos and coerced them to virtually engage in various sexual acts, prosecutors said.
The task force worked with local New Jersey law enforcement to locate and apprehend Meza-Valdez and have him extradited to McHenry County.
The Daily Voice reported Meza-Valdez, who worked for Ringwood Ambulance Corps in New Jersey as an ambulance driver, was arrested on June 20.
Meza-Valdez entered into a negotiated plea deal with the state’s attorney’s office on Tuesday.
He pleaded guilty to soliciting child pornography, a Class X felony, in exchange for six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC).
Meza-Valdez also pleaded guilty to grooming, a Class 4 felony, in exchange for two years in the IDOC.
The plea was accepted by McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis.
The sentences will be served consecutively and he will receive credit for time served awaiting trial.
Meza-Valdez will be required to register as a sex offender for life upon release.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese said the Lake in the Hills Police Department provided “invaluable information” to the task force to bring justice to the young victims.
The state’s attorney’s office said the task force, since 2023, has partnered with local law enforcement agencies in McHenry County to investigate over 55 cases of child sexual and physical abuse allegations, leading to charges.