A Texas man has been sentenced to life in federal prison for sexually exploiting a child, according to an announcement by Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham. Alec Mendoza, a 26-year-old from Lubbock, Texas, was indicted in May 2024 and pleaded guilty in August 2024 to enticing a minor. His sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix.
The court documents reveal that Mendoza met the victim, identified as “Jane Doe,” at a party in 2020. Subsequently, Mendoza began communicating with the then 10-year-old victim online. The inappropriate relationship escalated on Valentine’s Day 2021 when Mendoza initiated sexual abuse. The abuse continued over two and a half years, with Mendoza engaging in sexual intercourse with the victim approximately 30 to 50 times while also sending inappropriate messages.
Mendoza was discovered in December 2023 sending text messages to Doe from his bedroom. Upon confrontation by Doe’s mother, Mendoza confessed to the ongoing sexual relationship. During sentencing, information was presented that Mendoza had failed a polygraph examination and confessed to abusing a second child. A search of Mendoza’s phone uncovered 20 videos of child sexual abuse material, which Mendoza admitted to distributing online.
Judge Hendrix acknowledged Mendoza's crimes as being beyond words, stating, “I have to make a lot of difficult decisions. This is not one of them.” The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation alongside the Lubbock Police Department, and the case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Rancourt.