Former Corpus Christi police officer convicted on charge of enticement of a minor
A U.S. district court has convicted a former Corpus Christi Police Department officer of coercing a 15-year-old girl to have sex with him.
Daniel Abelardo Verduzco, 32, entered a plea of guilty on May 16 to one count of enticement of a minor, according to records from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
U.S. District Judge David S. Morales found Verduzco guilty on May 23 and ordered a presentence investigation report to be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Morales accepted the plea on June 9.
Verduzco is scheduled to appear for sentencing on Aug. 21.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents notified the Corpus Christi Police Department that they had arrested Verduzco on Jan. 19 in Nueces County.
Police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, began investigating Verduzco on Jan. 8 after a concerned parent told them that she thought her daughter was involved in a relationship with a Corpus Christi police officer.
The mother looked at her daughter's Snapchat account and found photo messages between her daughter and a user known as 'Danny' inside of a police cruiser with a computer mount and laptop that revealed sensitive information about police calls and notes about the police calls, the Caller-Times previously reported.
Tulsa police found that the girl and the Snapchat user had exchanged more than 3,700 messages, which included photos of the girl's breasts and videos and photos of her in sexually suggestive poses and outfits, according to a criminal complaint filed on Jan. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
The teenager's mother said that at the time she believed 'Danny' to be the same age as her daughter, the complaint showed. However, her daughters confirmed that 'Danny' was a police officer, she said.
Verduzco is no longer employed with the city of Corpus Christi, Lt. Eryca Gonzalez of the Corpus Christi Police Department confirmed on June 16. The department previously placed Verduzco on administrative leave after the investigation began in January.
Gonzalez said the police department fully cooperated with the investigation, which was led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, but did not comment further on the case.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
More: How can I learn more about sex offenders in my area? Nueces County has a tool for that
More: Two individuals charged in crimes involving sex trafficking, solicitation of minors
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Former Corpus Christi officer convicted of sexually coercing minor
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
4 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Fat Joe sued in bombshell lawsuit by ex employee. Here are the shocking allegations
Diddy isn't the only rapper making headlines for the wrong reasons these days. Fat Joe is being sued for by former employee Terrance 'T.A.' Dixon, who accuses the hip hop legend of 'coercive labor exploitation, financial fraud, sexual manipulation, violent intimidation, and psychological coercion,' Variety reports. The legal move comes just a few weeks after the 54-year-old Bronx native sued Dixon for slandering him on a social media post where he claimed the rap icon flew a 16-year-old girl across state lines for sex. That suit also named Dixon's lawyer, Tyrone Blackburn. In legal documents filed filed in U.S. District Court Southern District of New York Thursday, Dixon claims the music star forced him into 'humiliating situations, including sex acts performed under duress and surveillance, accompanied by threats of abandonment in foreign countries if [he] refused compliance.' In total, Dixon, who worked as a hype man to energize crowds at Joe's shows for 16 years, said he was subjected to more than 4,000 such scenarios throughout his tenure. Even more shocking, Dixon accuses his former boss of engaging in sexual relations with at least three underage girls (referred to as 'Minor Does'), including a 'Caucasian' non U.S. citizen. The latter alleged relationship began when the girl was 15 after one of the hitmaker's concerts abroad, the federal suit says. 'Defendant flew Minor Doe 2 to New York City and Miami, Florida, on multiple occasions,' reads the suit. 'Due to Minor Doe 2's body being adolescent and not fully formed, Defendant paid for her to get a Brazilian Butt Lift. Minor Doe 2 eventually left Defendant and is now married to a professional athlete.' The relationship with Minor 3 was apparently more serious, with Dixon saying Joe (real name real name Joseph Cartagena) was 'in love' with her and even contemplated getting a divorce to be with her, Dixon says. 'The Defendant paid all Minor Doe 3's bills and even took her overseas to his tour stops. He brought her to Florida and would put her up in a condo he rented a few blocks from his house with his wife,' the lawsuit states. Dixon, also a 'contributor' on such classics as 'Congratulations,' 'Ice Cream,' and 'Money Over B---hes,' is seeking up to $20 million in damages. Through his lawyer Joe Tacopina, the Grammy nominee said the suit was full of 'manufactured' allegations and was filed in retaliation for his original civil suit as an extortion attempt. 'Law enforcement is aware of the extortionate demand at the heart of this scheme,' the statement partially read. 'The allegations against Mr. Cartagena are complete fabrications — lies intended to damage his reputation and force a settlement through public pressure. Mr. Cartagena will not be intimidated. We have taken legal action to expose this fraudulent campaign and hold everyone involved accountable.' READ MORE: Fat Joe says he bailed Justin Bieber out of jail
Los Angeles Times
4 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Fat Joe accused of coercion, intimidation, sex with minors in ex-hype man's lawsuit
Terrance 'T.A.' Dixon, once a hype man to rapper Fat Joe, has sued his former employer for $20 million, making some allegations that might blend right in at Sean 'Diddy' Combs' RICO and sex-trafficking trial. The federal lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York and reviewed by The Times, alleges that the rapper underpaid Dixon, cut him out of promised pay for contributing to album tracks, defrauded authorities about his income, ditched Dixon in foreign countries without money or transportation home and is running a criminal organization built on intimidation and violence. The lawsuit alleges that Fat Joe forced the hype man — a sort of backing vocalist who pumps up the audience — into approximately 4,000 sex acts with women in front of him and his crew. The 54-year-old rapper, born Joseph Antonio Cartagena, is also accused of having sexual relationships with girls who were 15 and 16. The allegations go back to when the rapper was in his late 30s, the lawsuit says. Fat Joe's song 'She's My Mama,' which has graphically sexual lyrics, was based on what is alleged to have happened with him and one of the girls in real life, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit states that Dixon's role over about 16 years was more than that of the usual hype man. He 'consistently' had duties that included co-writing lyrics, structuring hooks, recording background vocals, performing at more than 200 live shows as Fat Joe's primary onstage counterpart and managing travel logistics, including equipment transport, security and emergency arrangements. The complaint alleges that Dixon also acted as Joe's bodyguard and handler during tours. According to the filing, Dixon wrote or co-wrote tracks including 'Congratulations,' 'Money Over Bitches,' 'Ice Cream,' 'Cupcake,' 'Blackout,' 'Dirty Diana,' 'Porn Star,' 'Okay Okay,''No Problems,' a version of 'All the Way Up,' '300 Brolic,' 'All I Do Is Win (Remix verse),' 'Red Café (Remix),' 'Winding on Me,' 'Cocababy' and 'Get It for Life.' The complaint alleges that Dixon was not properly paid for his efforts, even though he says he was promised certain ownership percentages and documented credit on songs that Fat Joe released commercially. Dixon, who left Fat Joe's team in 2020, was unable to obtain certain evidence of wrongdoing until a person named as 'Accountant Doe' came forward last year with information, the lawsuit says. Fat Joe 'exercised sole control over contracts, budgets, tour management, licensing, and credit attribution and intentionally omitted Plaintiff's name from liner notes, publishing registrations, and royalty structures, despite Plaintiff's direct contributions to these works' creative and commercial success,' the complaint says. Joe Tacopina, an attorney for Fat Joe, called the lawsuit 'a blatant attack of retaliation' and labeled the allegations 'complete fabrications' that his client denies in a statement to Variety. Retaliation referred to the slander lawsuit that the rapper filed against Dixon in April after the former hype man accused him on social media of flying a 16-year-old across state lines for sex. Dixon's attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, is also representing producer Lil Rod (Rodney Jones) in his $30-million federal lawsuit filed last year against Sean 'Diddy' Combs and others in Combs' orbit, in which Lil Rod alleged sexual harassment and sexual assault. A judge tossed out a majority of Lil Rod's allegations against Combs in late March. Both lawsuits include trigger warnings in bright red type ahead of the allegations — something not often seen in such documents. 'Fat Joe is Sean Combs minus the Tusi [pink cocaine],' Blackburn said in a statement to the Independent. 'He learned nothing from his 2013 federal conviction,' the attorney added, referencing Fat Joe's four-month sentence and $15,000 fine in a plea deal for failure to file a tax return in multiple years on more than $3.3 million in income. In addition to Fat Joe, defendants in the new lawsuit include Peter 'Pistol Pete' Torres, Richard 'Rich Player' Jospitre, Erica Juliana Moreira and several companies —including Roc Nation — that are affiliated with the rapper. Dixon is asking for a jury trial.
Black America Web
12 hours ago
- Black America Web
Fat Joe Sued For $20M By Ex-Hypeman, Claims Rapper Had Sex With Minors
Source: Al Bello / Getty Fat Joe is being sued for $20 million by his former hypeman, who has lobbed a litany of sordid claims against the Bronx rapper. The lawsuitalleges that Joe, born Joseph Antonio Cartagena, participated in sex acts with several minors in their teens, amongst other wild claims. As initially reported by Variety , Terrance 'T.A.' Dixon filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York against the 'Lean Back: rapper on Thursday, June 19. Dixon was reportedly Joe's hypeman for over 15 years, giving him front row view of the illicit behavior he described in his 157-page lawsuit. It's worth noting that Dixon's lawyer is Tyrone Blackburn, the same man who is representing Lil Rodney in his lawsuit againt Sean 'Diddy' Combs, which also includes some explosive charges against the disgraced mogul. However, Blackburn has developed a rep for representing clients with over-the-top claims that aren't necessarily credible. But Dixon claims that over the years Fat Joe coerced him in over 4.000 sexuals acts to keep him in good 'standing within the Enterprise. According to Dixon he was pressured 'into humiliating situations, including sex acts performed under duress and surveillance, accompanied by threats of abandonment in foreign countries if [he] refused compliance.' The most egregious claim in the lawsuit is its detailing of Fat Joe allegedly participating sex acts with three Jane Does—one 15-year-old and two 16-year-olds. Also included in the RICO-claiming lawsuit are longtime Fat Joe associates. Pete 'Pistol Pete' Torres and Richard 'Rich Player' Jospitre, as well as Roc Nation. Dixon's lawsuit arrives after he and Blackburn were sued by Fat Joe back in April for slander after alleging on social media that the rapper flew a 16-year-old girl across state lines to engage in sexual intercourse. Joe maintains that Dixon and Blackburn are basically trying to extort him, allegedly. Fat Joe is being represented by Joe Tacopina, a criminal attorney who has become famed in Hip-Hop circles after representing A$AP Rocky, who acquitted of gun charges and who past clients include Meek Mill, and Donald Trump. In reponse to the lawsuit against Fat Joe, Tacopino told Variety , 'The lawsuit filed by Tyrone Blackburn and Terrance Dixon is a blatant act of retaliation — a desperate attempt to deflect attention from the civil suit we filed first, which exposed their coordinated scheme to extort Mr. Cartagena through lies, threats, and manufactured allegations.' Needless to say, the social media peanut gallery has been going off since news of the lawsuit broke. This story is developing. Fat Joe Sued For $20M By Ex-Hypeman, Claims Rapper Had Sex With Minors was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
