MULESHOE, TX – A Texas man was sentenced today to 33 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for child kidnapping.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S Attorney Erin Nealy Cox of the Northern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno of the FBI’s Dallas Field Office made the announcement.
Rene Gloria, 57, of Muleshoe, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas. According to admissions that he made in connection with his guilty plea, on Dec. 24, 2018, Gloria lured two minor children into his car with the promise of money. Once they were in his car, Gloria threatened to kill them and refused to let them out of his car. After several hours, both minors eventually escaped from Gloria’s car and were recovered by law enforcement.
The case was investigated by the FBI with the assistance of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Muleshoe Police Department, the Bailey County Sheriff’s Office, the Plainview Police Department and the Hale County Sheriff’s Office. Trial Attorney Kyle P. Reynolds of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Lorfing of the Northern District of Texas prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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