2 men arrested for allegedly enticing minors online and by text

SALT LAKE CITY — Two men were arrested Wednesday for allegedly enticing minors by internet or text, according to law enforcement.

Thomas Martin Blair, 52, was attempting to meet who he believed was a 13-year-old girl to engage in sex acts, according to a police booking affidavit.

FBI investigators say Blair created a social media post seeking “YngrGirls” who like “OldrDads.” Blair then engaged in a sexually explicit conversation with a girl he believed to be 13 years old, according to the affidavit.

“Blair had previously engaged in conversations with the same purported minor girl during which he asked numerous times for compromising pictures of the girl and discussed sex acts,” the affidavit says.

After discovering that Blair had allegedly arranged to meet with the supposed 13-year-old girl, FBI Salt Lake Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force agents, along with other law enforcement officers, established surveillance at an apartment complex in Taylorsville — the pre-arranged meeting location — in an effort to locate and arrest Blair.

During surveillance, Blair continued contact with the person he believed to be the minor female and indicated he had arrived at the complex and was searching for a previously-discussed landmark, the affidavit states.

At about the same time, law enforcement officers noticed a black Hyundai SUV enter and exit the apartment complex parking lot “multiple times.”

Agents ran the license plate of the vehicle and determined the registered owner was Blair and that he was 52 years old with a registered address in West Jordan. After Blair established that he was at the complex through a message, law enforcement officers stopped the Hyundai and identified the driver as Blair.

According to the affidavit, Blair was transported to the State Bureau of Investigation building where he acknowledged, after being read his Miranda rights, communicating with an underage girl through various social media applications and engaging in sexually explicit conversations with her, including discussions of specific sex acts.

The affidavit also says that after receiving Blair’s consent, a search of his phone revealed “several conversations in which he discussed a sexual interest in children.” It also stated that when asked, Blair acknowledged that “about 20% of his sexual interest is pedophilic.”

Blair was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail Wednesday for investigation of enticing a minor by internet or text.

Also on Wednesday, Gerardo Aguilar-Romero, 51, was arrested in West Valley City for allegedly making arrangements to sexually assault someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl, according to a police booking affidavit.

The FBI undercover created a persona as a 13-year-old girl involved in sex trafficking or prostitution.

According to the affidavit, Romero contacted the undercover FBI profile or advertisement on a known escort or prostitution website that depicted a young girl involved in sex trafficking and provided a phone number to contact the personified 13-year-old girl.

Romero began communicating with this persona via text message and offered to pay $150 for sex acts, the affidavit states.

According to the affidavit, Romero made arrangements to meet at a hotel in West Valley City and drove to this location, where was arrested without incident while in possession of $150 and condoms.

“During an interview with Romero, he admitted that he had been communicating with a 13-year-old girl and offered to pay $150 for sex. Romero stated that she just happened to be available and knew it was illegal to pay for sex with a 13-year-old girl,” the affidavit states.

Romero was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail Wednesday for investigation of enticing a minor by internet or text.