A 20-year-old Florida International University student is facing multiple felony charges after investigators say he sent explicit videos of himself to, and later invited to his campus apartment, someone he believed was a 15-year-old boy. Jose Pablo Inostroza-Ibanez was booked into jail on charges that include using a computer to seduce, solicit or lure a child, attempted lewd and lascivious assault on a child, and electronic transmission of material harmful to minors.
According to an arrest report described by NBC 6 South Florida, the encounter began after an independent civilian investigator created an online persona portraying himself as a 15-year-old and used it to contact Inostroza-Ibanez on Grindr. Per that same report, the online interaction started on August 28, when the adult investigator built the profile on his own initiative, without direction from FIU Police or any other law enforcement agency, according to details reported by Local 10 News.
Communications between Inostroza-Ibanez and the investigator reportedly turned sexual, and the arrest report notes that he continued communicating with the persona even after being told the person was 15. Investigators say the pair eventually shifted their conversation from Grindr to Snapchat, where Inostroza-Ibanez allegedly sent two videos of himself exposing himself to the persona he believed was a minor.
Meetup Arranged at FIU Dormitory
Per the arrest report, Inostroza-Ibanez told the investigator that he lived alone in the University Apartments dormitory on FIU's Modesto A. Maidique Campus, provided instructions for accessing the building, and arranged for the person he believed was 15 to travel to his apartment. When the persona indicated he was arriving by Uber, Inostroza-Ibanez allegedly offered to meet him outside, according to details reported by Local 10 News.
The independent investigator then arrived at the apartment posing as the teenager. FIU Police responded to the incident and made the arrest, according to the arrest report. The University Apartments complex is slated for partial demolition to make way for a $160 million medical research facility, per reporting from PantherNOW.
Probable Cause and Charges
The arrest report identified several circumstances supporting probable cause for the charges, including the sexual nature of the communications, the transmission of the explicit videos, Inostroza-Ibanez's knowledge of the purported juvenile's age, his directions and assistance facilitating the teen's travel, and the overall circumstances surrounding the planned meeting. The report states that probable cause was developed for the applicable criminal charges.
NBC 6 South Florida reported that a judge appointed a public defender to represent Inostroza-Ibanez and set his bond at $17,500, while Local 10 News reported that the bond was $2,500. NBC 6 South Florida reported that it had requested a statement from FIU, but the university had not provided one as of the outlet's report.
Florida's Strict Solicitation Laws
Florida Statute 847.0135 addresses using a computer service or electronic device to entice, solicit or lure a minor, or a person believed to be a minor, for unlawful sexual conduct; the solicitation offense is described as a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. The statute explicitly states that the involvement of an undercover officer or independent operative is not a valid defense, according to the Florida Senate.
Separately, Florida Statute 847.0138 is described as a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Florida Statute 800.04 addresses lewd or lascivious offenses involving children, with felony classifications varying by the offense and circumstances.
Part of a Broader South Florida Pattern
The case fits a pattern of similar arrests across South Florida in recent months. In July, federal authorities arrested a 38-year-old Coral Gables man on charges of attempting to entice a minor after he allegedly negotiated a paid sexual encounter on Grindr with an undercover FBI agent posing as a 14-year-old boy, as Hoodline previously reported. In August, Broward Sheriff's Office deputies arrested a 41-year-old Miami man accused of communicating with someone he believed was 15 and arranging a meeting.
The FIU case involved a civilian decoy operation, while other investigations have involved undercover operations. Florida has a dedicated Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Funding Program within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that provides funding to local law-enforcement affiliates, including for overtime-related expenses.
FIU Police was the law enforcement agency that made the arrest. The case remains under review as it moves through the court system, with Inostroza-Ibanez's public defender now representing him after his bond was set.
