Former Pecos coach goes to prison for sextortion scheme

A former Pecos High School basketball coach was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court to five counts of coercion and enticement of minors.

Joshua Rico, 27, of Pecos pleaded guilty to the five counts on Dec. 22, according to a news release last week from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque.

Upon his release from prison, Rico will be required to register as a sex offender and serve a 20-year term of supervised release.

A federal grand jury indicted Rico on May 12, 2021. According to court documents, as early as January 2018, Rico used profiles on the Snapchat social media platform to coerce female high school students, some of which he was familiar with from his job as an assistant basketball coach at a local high school, into sending him sexually explicit photos and videos and engage in sexual acts.

Rico used fictitious profiles under the names “Chris Lujan” and “Erik Romero” as well as a profile in his name to threaten, coerce and manipulate at least four victims who were between 14 and 16 years old, the release stated.

In each case, Rico used one or both of his fake profiles to persuade the victims to send compromising photos, then used the threat of exposing the photos to coerce the victims into engaging in sexual acts and sending him videos of the acts.

In two instances, after using a fake profile to demand the victims engage in sexual acts and provide videos, he offered to “help” the victims by allowing them to perform the sexual act with him. Rico coerced at least one of the victims into engaging in sexual acts with him.

Rico’s scheme continued unchecked for nearly three years until one of the victims pieced together that Rico and “Erik” were the same person and reported the conduct to her school and the New Mexico State Police.

Through investigation, law enforcement was able to confirm Rico also was “Chris Lujan” and “Erik Romero.”

“The successful multi-agency investigation and prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office will keep a dangerous predator out of the school system and will prevent him from targeting additional minors,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda stated.

“Our mission is clear: to protect the innocent, to uphold the rule of law, and to ensure that those who engage in such malicious activities face the consequences of their actions,” U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez said. “This sentence should send a message to would-be predators, especially those who work in positions of trust with children, that sextortion is a heinous crime that will be punished with decades in prison.”