A Dallas man was recently sentenced to life in prison for online solicitation of a minor.
Joseph Marshall Gutierrez received the sentence after attempting to schedule sexual services with an undercover officer who was posing as a minor, according to a press release issued by the Collin County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday.
Gutierrez set up the meeting on June 3, 2022, and arrived at a Super 8 in Mckinney, Texas, with a box of condoms, a sex toy, and his phone.
“This child predator had already been to prison twice, once for sexual conduct with a child and once for failing to abide by sex offender registration conditions, before he then sought out yet another child for his own sexual desires,” said District Attorney Greg Willis, per the press release. “He deserves a lifetime locked in a cell as far away from a child as possible.”
Gutierrez was arrested on the spot, and data from his phone was used to confirm that he had sent the messages to the undercover officer.
The 35-year-old was a repeat offender. In 2011 he was charged with one count of indecency with a child. He received probation but subsequently violated it, for which he received five years in prison.
Gutierrez was released in 2015 and subsequently charged with failure to register as a sex offender and aggravated assault. He received another five years, completing his parole in 2021. Six months later, he tried to solicit a minor in McKinney.
Likely due to his criminal history, the jury sentenced him to life in prison.
McKinney is located about 30 miles north of Dallas, which has seen its share of sex crimes in recent years. As of August 11, there have been 447 sexual assaults classified by the Dallas Police Department (DPD) as violent crimes committed within the city, according to a DPD report.
Complicating efforts to combat and investigate such crimes is a serious shortage of police officers. A City analysis determined that a city the size of Dallas needs roughly 4,000 police officers, but DPD currently only employs around 3,100.
The shortage has been especially felt in Downtown Dallas, logging considerably more incidents than Fort Worth’s downtown area, which is patrolled by a dedicated police unit that works alongside private security guards.
“With this many eyes and ears on the street, people who are up to no good feel very uncomfortable,” said Andy Taft, president of Downtown Fort Worth Inc., WFAA reported.