SAN ANTONIO – A U.S. Border Patrol agent who is assigned to the Uvalde Station was arrested on charges of online solicitation of a minor after exchanging messages with a girl he met on Snapchat, police said.
Police say the 16-year-old victim told them in early November that she had run away from home after getting into an argument with her father.
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While the victim was away from her home, she met several people through the Snapchat app, police said. She told police some of the people she met were older males who gave her money and shelter in exchange for sexual acts.
Police obtained a search warrant and reviewed the victim’s Snapchat account. They said they saw a photograph sent by a user who appeared to be in a uniform.
Officials said the victim told the user, identified as 24-year-old Spencer Allen Cox, that she was 16 early on in their conversation.
Police said Cox acknowledged the message and continued to communicate with the minor. The two exchanged inappropriate photos and videos, police said.
Cox also sent the victim videos showing a male and female engaging in a sexual act, officials said.
Police said Cox told the victim he was the male in the explicit videos.
Officers said Cox offered the victim money for images of her, and that the communication between the accounts was sexually explicit.
Cox also told the victim that he wanted to have sex with her in the messages, police said.
Police said the victim told them that Cox had requested a “car date” so that they could “hook up” on three separate occasions.
The victim told police she did not meet with Cox.
On Jan. 22, Cox went to the SAPD Special Victims Unit to admit that he was the owner of the Snapchat account that was messaging with the victim, police said.
Cox told police he used his Snapchat app to communicate with various females, according to an arrest affidavit. He also admitted to exchanging pictures and videos with the victim that were sexually explicit.
Cox said he saw the message disclosing the victim’s age, but he said he believed he was “drunk” during that time, the affidavit said.
He also told police there were discussions about meeting up, but he said the term “car date” was used to mean an actual date, not anything sexual, according to the affidavit.
Cox is charged with online solicitation of a minor with intent to engage in sexual contact.
Border Patrol officials said Cox has been with the agency for four years.
A Customs and Border Protection spokesman released the following statement:
“The US Border Patrol stresses honor and integrity in every aspect of our mission. We do not tolerate criminal activity within our ranks, and we fully cooperate with any criminal or administrative investigations of alleged misconduct by any of our personnel, on or off duty.”
