Federal authorities have charged an admissions official at Emmanuel College of trying to have sex with an underage applicant.
Jacob Henriques, a 29-year-old Assistant Admissions Director at the Boston school, faces one criminal count of attempted sex trafficking of a minor.
Federal prosecutors allege that Henriques used his position to “allegedly gain access to the personal information of various admitted or prospective students, who he later contacted to solicit to engage in commercial sex with him.”
The Independent has reached out to the college for more information.
He met with at least three admitted or prospective students on April 25 and then began contacting them, authorities said. These exchanges included the 29-year-old allegedly offering to “pay them for some fun,” offering to provide them with pornography, and, in some instances, sending them pornographic videos or images.
That same day, Henriques also got in contact with a fourth admitted student — after she committed to attend Emmanuel College — and then offered to pay her for “some fun” and began sending pornographic videos to her, federal prosecutors said.
According to a series of now-deleted online profiles, Henriques graduated from Emmanuel College in 2021 with a BA in History and Secondary Education. During his time as a student, the suspect was involved in the campus ministry.
One of the victims was a 17-year-old prospective student. He allegedly saw the female victim’s date of birth on her tour registration form just before giving her a tour, prosecutors stated.
While on the tour, Henriques allegedly asked the prospective student what grade she was in, and she told him the high school she attended. Hours after the tour concluded, he began texting the teen on the number she gave on her admissions form, authorities allege.
Throughout the night, he texted her, including allegedly offering to pay her $400 for “some fun,” and said he had some explicit photos and videos for her. He never told the girl who he was or how he got her number, prosecutors say. He just told her that “porn” and “$” was ready for her.
He then allegedly sent the teen five pornographic videos depicting men and women engaged in sex acts before asking her whether she wanted to participate in a “gangbang” or whether she wanted to have sex with him.
Despite her multiple rejections, prosecutors said, he continued to text her to let her know if she changed her mind. He added that he would buy her anything she wanted.
Between April 25 and April 28, Henriques allegedly accessed the minor’s profile 47 times. She blocked his phone number, but authorities allege that he started reaching out to her via email.
The charge of attempted sex trafficking of a minor carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison, with at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
