Vigilant mom helps catch man luring boys with Fortnite, Discord, Arizona officials say
A Florida man was ordered to spend 32 years behind bars in connection with luring three Arizona boys online using social media and gaming, and a vigilant mom helped put him away, prosecutors said.
The mom contacted the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children after she found explicit messages and images on her 11-year-old son’s phone, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said in a Jan. 27 news release.
Police determined the messages were from 24-year-old Jacob Lozano, of Arcadia, Florida, prosecutors said.
Lozano and the boy met through the online game Fortnite, according to prosecutors.
“An undercover detective posing as the (11-year-old) started messaging the defendant who continued sending explicit images of himself and child sexual abuse materials,” prosecutors said.
“During the investigation, police discovered two more victims in Maricopa County whom Lozano messaged on Discord and coerced into making videos over a webcam,” according to prosecutors.
Lozano was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and three counts of attempting to commit aggravated luring of a minor, prosecutors said.
McClatchy News reached out to his attorney Jan. 27 and was awaiting a response.
“Jacob Lozano found a child’s online playground and used it as a means for his own gratification,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in the release. “I commend the parent in this case who was paying close attention. She saw what her son was receiving through his online gaming and called law enforcement. That’s the kind of vigilance that pays off for her child and children everywhere.”
Arcadia is about a 90-mile drive southeast from Tampa.
This story was originally published January 27, 2025 at 2:36 PM with the headline "Vigilant mom helps catch man luring boys with Fortnite, Discord, Arizona officials say."
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