A former Catholic seminarian from Ohio was arrested by authorities in San Diego, California on Friday for allegedly seeking to have sex with infants and toddlers in Mexico.
Joel Wright, 23, of Columbus, Ohio, previously tried to go to Tijuana to adopt a child, according to the Associated Press.
He was arraigned on Saturday on charges of traveling with the intent to have sex with a minor and attempt to engage in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign country, the Christian News Network reported.
The complaint by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California showed that he was the focus of an undercover investigation that started last November. The Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) got a tip from a person in Mexico about an ad on Craiglist on the adoption of infants.
Wright initially said he was seeking to meet a woman to marry and adopt a child but the conversation changed to his intent to have sexual conduct with children.
An undercover agent posed as a Mexican tour guide and conversed with Wright through email after authorities got the tip.
"I have not gone all the way before, but I have made it very close in the past, so I do have experience," he answered to the question of whether he had engaged in the act before.
He then booked a flight to San Diego to meet the friend of the tour guide that would take him to a hotel in Tijuana and meet female infants. Wright was arrested upon arrival at San Diego's Lindberg Field.
"This investigation opens a window into a secret world where sexual predators prey on young children around the globe," said Dave Shaw, special agent in charge for HSI San Diego. "Paedophiles who mistakenly believe they can escape justice by committing child sex crimes outside the U.S. should be on notice that HSI will seek to vindicate the rights of those victims regardless where they live."
He added, "Fortunately, in this instance, our perseverance and diligence prevented the sexual exploitation of yet another innocent victim."
Wright became a student at Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus but lost his status at the Catholic seminary for leaving campus without permission.
"We're shocked and saddened by the heinous nature of the allegations," said John Allen, vice president for advancement at Pontifical College Josephinum.
