June 7 – A Nevada man admitted before a federal judge in Pittsburgh that he traveled to western Pennsylvania to have sex with a 15-year-old West Mifflin girl after following her online for more than a year the prosecutors said.
Renad Bautista, 31, from Las Vegas pleaded guilty to a charge of traveling with intent to engage in illegal sexual behavior, US Attorney General Stephen Kaufman said.
Bautista was arrested in December 2019 after an undercover officer impersonated the girl he had followed online since she was 13.
Police said Renad Bautista, 30, “contacted the girl continuously” from August 2018 when she was 13 years old, commenting that she had sex with her and asking her to look at nude photos he sent of himself to respond with their own photos, according to a criminal complaint.
Police said the girl’s parents asked Bautista to stop contacting her, but instead told the girl that he found her address through social media and knew what her house looked like, adding that he was going to Pittsburgh want to go to meet her. The girl’s father held out his hand again, informed Bautista of her age and told him to stop communicating with her. Bautista then sent her a letter and a $ 5 bill home.
When the girl suspended her social media accounts, Bautista opened new ones to keep contacting her.
In August 2019, officials from the West Mifflin Police Department and the FBI Pittsburgh Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force took over the girl’s social media account, posing as a 14-year-old. Police said Bautista continued to contact the account believing it was the girl and said he knew her age and that he would come to Pittsburgh so they could get married and live in an apartment together.
If the agent controlling the account didn’t respond immediately, Bautista said he would kill her.
Bautista faces a prison sentence of up to 30 years and a fine of up to $ 250,000.
A federal judge has scheduled his hearing on the verdict for September 21.
Natasha Lindstrom is a contributor to Tribune Review. You can contact Natasha at 412-380-8514, nlindstrom@triblive.com, or on Twitter.
