Man charged confessed to posing as modeling agent to lure child, police say

LEAGUE CITY, Texas (KTRK) -- League City police say the man accused of sexually assaulting a child he met online by pretending to be a modeling agent has turned himself in.

On Dec. 8, 2019, the victim, a girl under 14 years old was contacted by a person through the LIKEE app under the pretense of becoming a model.

According to police, the person who reached out to the child told her they were going to offer her a modeling sponsorship.

"The person said they needed to send over a representative to do a personal evaluation," League City police's public information officer John Griffith said.

During the conversation, the child gave out her address. At around 11:52 a.m. that day, a man arrived at the house in a dark-colored car, believed to be a 2014 or 2015 Hyundai Accent hatchback.

The suspect entered the home and assaulted her, police said.

After posting the photos from the surveillance video on Facebook, Griffith said a man identified as Joel Christopher Acuna turned himself in and confessed around 10 a.m. Tuesday.

"He showed up at the police station with his phone and said, 'That's me on Facebook,'" Griffith said.

Police said Acuna has been charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child felony warrant and is held on a $250,000 bond.