Former STM teacher Angel Cardona sentenced to 10 years for child sex crimes
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- A former teacher at St. Thomas More High School in Lafayette has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Angel Cardona was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David C. Joseph to 10 years in prison, with credit for time served (9 months), and 10 years of probation after release. As part of a plea deal, Cardona will be incarcerated at a south Florida facility with sex-offender treatment program. No fines were levied, since he had no ability to pay them.
Cardona pleaded guilty in federal court in January to enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. He was also charged with attempted production of child pornography after admitting to talking to who he thought was a 13-year-old girl between June 5 and July 10 and asking for sexually explicit pictures.
According to court records, Cardona was caught by a sting operation involving an undercover federal agent posing as a 13-year-old girl.
According to prosecutors, conversations about sex, sexual experiences, and the fictional girl's body were brought up by Cardona throughout this time period. On numerous occasions, the undercover agent made reference to her age of 13. The conversations regarding her sexual inexperience increased over time becoming more graphic and detailed. Eventually, Cardona began asking the undercover agent for pictures of herself and asked for images containing sexual material, officials said.
On July 11 and 13, 2023, Cardona specifically and explicitly asked the undercover agent
to produce and send him child pornography. The undercover agent gave excuses for not complying and Cardona instructed her to be sneaky about it in order to create the images.
He brought up the idea of meeting in person on numerous occasions and eventually they agreed to meet at Veterans Park in Lafayette on July 24, 2023, officials said. According to prosecutors, Cardona admitted that he intended to meet the person he believed to be a minor female for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity.
While he was hired by to coach and teach at the school, Cardona was arrested in July 2023 by U.S. Marshals before stepping into an STM classroom.