LOGAN — A 43-year-old man from Las Vegas, Nevada has confessed to sexting with a 16-year-old boy in Cache Valley. Robert James Saucedo accepted a plea deal that could send him to prison.
Saucedo appeared Feb. 24 in Logan’s 1st District Court. He pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony; and dealing in materials harmful to a minor, a third-degree felony. As part of the plea agreement, four remaining charges were dismissed.
According to prosecutors, the Cache County Sheriff’s Office began investigating Saucedo after a man called 911 on March 24, 2024. He told deputies that he had found messages on his son’s phone, sharing nude photos of himself with an adult male.
The messages took place through several social media apps with an individual by the name of Rob. They also included discussions about meeting up.
Deputies seized the phone for forensic analysis. It showed multiple times the boy had communicated with the defendant, exchanging pornographic photos, discussing his young age and where he lived, court paperwork described.
Law enforcement were able to obtain a warrant and track the messages to Saucedo. They were also able to use facial recognition software to positively identify the defendant in some of the pictures.
According to court records, Saucedo has a lengthy criminal history involving children. He was previously charged with having contact with minors, dealing in harmful material to minors and arranging to meet with a minor.
Saucedo has been in the Cache County Jail since being arrested by law enforcement in Nevada and extradited to the Cache County Jail on Feb. 1. He is being held on $40,000 bail and scheduled to be sentenced April 14.