A federal judge sentenced a San Angelo man to federal prison for “sextorting” minors – and one adult – across the country.
A Lubbock jury found Juelz Sincere Armstead, 21, guilty in April for five counts of producing child porn, two counts of attempted child porn production, and seven counts of “cyber stalking,” according to a July 16 release from the Department of Justice.
Federal District Judge James Wesley Hendrix sentenced him Tuesday to 245 years in federal prison.
“You are an incredible danger,” he told Armstead during the trial. “The protection of the public is at its apex here.”
Armstead was booked in the Lubbock County Jail on April 11, according to jail records. He is currently detained there and is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals. Court documents show he was held without bond.
Across the course of three years, Armstead used “various” social media platforms to meet his victims – nine minors and one adult, according to the release. He then “cyberstalked and coerced” them to send “sexually explicit photographs and videos,” threatening to expose it to family and friends if they didn’t send him more.
The Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office – which covers San Angelo – arrested Armstead in December 2022 for this activity, according to the release. Jail records show that at the time, he was charged with possession of child pornography and placed under a $50,000 bond.
“Upon his release from jail, Armstead obtained another cell phone and continued his sextortion scheme,” the release reads. “Armstead continued to amass more victims.”
Then he was arrested again, in February 2024, for child pornography. According to jail records, he was listed as a “fugitive” from Colorado Springs and placed on hold for the U.S. Marshal. Armstead does not immediately appear in the Texas sex offender registry.
In the trial, multiple victims testified about the “abuse and emotional trauma,” according to the release. Armstead’s threats placed them in “fear,” they “felt their lives were over,” and they felt like “they were being raped.” Some felt suicidal.
Prosecutors introduced “tens of thousands” of pages of messages, and hundreds of photos and videos, between Armstead and his victims.
“Graphic photographs and videos were discussed at trial, including of one 14-year-old victim with tears rolling down her cheeks as she created the sexually explicit video,” the release reads. “Another 18-year-old victim was so fearful of Armstead’s repeated threats to harm and expose her that she was manipulated into filming sexually explicit videos of her 13-year-old sister.”
ICE-Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Mike Baker testified during the trial that Armstead still had more victims who were “too traumatized to prepare for and attend trial.”
Hendrix described Armstead’s behavior during the trial as “repeat, incessant terrorizing and bullying of these victims over and over again without any sign of mercy.”
ICE-HSI Abilene led the investigation, with help from the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office, according to the release. They were assisted by the San Angelo and Abilene police departments, as well as HSI branches across Texas, including those in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.
HSI branches across the country also contributed, including in Atlanta, Colorado Springs, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Newark, Philadelphia, Portland, and Raleigh. They worked alongside the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, the sheriff in Clinton County, Indiana, and the police departments in Albany and Salem, Oregon.
“We hope that the lengthy incarceration of this defendant will assist the victims as they continue in the healing process and serve as a warning to like-minded predators that we will pursue swift justice and extensive punishment for these types of despicable crimes,” said Acting Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Nancy Larson in the release.
HSI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard said Armstead inflicted “unspeakable harm” on “innocent victims.”
“HSI Dallas and our law enforcement partners remain steadfast in our mission to protect the most vulnerable among us and hold those who exploit them accountable,” he said.