A college admissions worker in Boston was arrested Friday after he was accused of offering $400 to a 17-year-old prospective student in exchange for sex, federal officials said.
Jacob Henriques, 29, used his position as an assistant admissions director at Emmanuel College to gain access to the personal information of at least four potential students before contacting them, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts alleged.
Henriques met with at least three such students on April 25. He is accused of contacting them afterward with offers to “pay them for some fun,” along with offering them and sending them pornography, officials said.
Henriques contacted a fourth victim after she formally committed to attending the school on April 25, the attorney’s office said. He allegedly offered to pay her for “some fun” before sending her pornographic videos.
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Henriques contacted one prospective student, a 17-year-old high school girl, within hours of finishing a tour of the college on or about April 25, federal officials said.
Henriques allegedly used the phone number the girl provided on her admissions form to text her with offers to pay her $400 for “some fun” and said he could send her pornography.
The 29-year-old continued to text the girl that night, refusing to identify himself or tell her how he obtained her phone number, according to officials.
After Henriques allegedly sent the 17-year-old five pornographic videos, prosecutors said he asked if she wanted to participate in a “gangbang” and if she wanted to have sex with him.
Despite the girl rejecting Henriques multiple times, he continued to text her, saying he “would buy her anything she wanted” if she changed her mind, the attorney’s office said.
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Between April 25 and April 28, Henriques allegedly accessed the girl’s profile 47 times. After she blocked his number, Henriques started emailing her, federal officials said.
Henriques was charged with one count of attempted sex trafficking of a minor.
An Emmanuel College spokesperson told WBZ-TV that Henriques has since been fired after an internal investigation.
“[We are] saddened, angered, and shocked by these serious federal allegations that have been brought against a former employee,” the spokesperson said. “They are an affront to our core values, and we stand with any victimized by this incident.”
Henriques is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Boston on Monday. He faces up to life in prison if found guilty.
The FBI’s Boston Division Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force is seeking to identify other potential victims of Henriques who he may have targeted between 2024 and 2025.
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