A convicted sex offender from Woodland was sentenced to 8 years and 10 months in prison on charges alleging he paid a 16-year-old for sexually explicit videos, court records show.
On July 9, Jose Herrera Rea, 29, received his sentence in Clark County Superior Court on charges of first-degree dealing and possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and a charge of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.
According to a probable cause affidavit for his arrest, Herrera Rea began communicating with a 15-year-old in October 2018 through Instagram, eventually getting the victim’s Snapchat username. Herrera Rea used voice messages through the app so the conversation was not recorded in writing.
The victim, who turned 16 in March 2019, stated it would have been “almost impossible” for Herrera Rea to not know her age, as her birthday was posted “all over” the victim’s social media accounts that Herrera Rea followed.
A month later, Herrera Rea asked for sexually explicit photos and videos from the victim, who refused, according to the affidavit. Herrera Rea then offered to pay the victim if she sent him the videos he requested.
The victim stated she was in a “deep depression” at the time and decided to make and send the requested videos to Herrera Rea for financial compensation, according to the affidavit. The victim did not send the videos to anyone else, and Herrera Rea saved them to the device he watched them on, as evidenced by a notification on the app.
The victim said Herrera Rea told her multiple times the videos sent to him “were not exactly what he was looking for” and the victim would have to redo them to get paid, according to the affidavit. Herrera Rea paid the victim three times for $30, $50 and $25 through a phone app.
The victim stated Herrera Rea attempted to meet her for sex on multiple occasions, though she never went to meet him. The affidavit also said Herrera Rea had exposed himself in videos he sent to her.
Through a forensic review of the victim’s phone, investigators were able to confirm Herrera Rea was communicating with the victim and they confirmed he received videos from her and paid her, stated the affidavit.
He also admitted to it during a Department of Corrections check-in.
The affidavit notes that Herrera Rea has multiple convictions of third-degree rape of a child and second-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct prior to the 2019 offenses.
