MAUD, Texas–A man who allegedly met up with a 14-year-old boy in Maud, Texas, that he met through an online dating app has been charged in Bowie County with sexual assault of a child.
Joseph Jacob Cuestra, 23, allegedly told law enforcement that he thought the boy was 19 after the boy’s mother caught the two of them together in the parking lot of a Dollar General store in Maud, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The mother reproof the teen allegedly reported to police that she became concerned about her son’s whereabouts when she came home Sept. 26 and he was not there. Using tracking features on a social media app on her phone, the mother determined that her son was nearby.
The son then came running toward the mother, who had gone outside to look for him, running from a blue jeep parked at the Dollar General. Cuestra allegedly admitted to engaging in sexual activity with the boy but denied knowing that he was a child.
Inside of Cuestra’s jeep, investigators allegedly found condoms and personal lubricant, the affidavit said.
Cuestra is currently being held in the Bowie County jail with bail set at $100,000. He faces two to 20 years in prison if convicted of sexual assault of a child.
The case has been assigned to 102nd District Judge Jeff Addison.
