Former Detective Sentenced More Than 24 Years In Prison For Sexually Exploiting A Minor

Jacksonville, Florida - U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Josue Garriga (35, St. Augustine), a/k/a "Sway," to 24 years and 4 months in federal prison for enticing a child to engage in sexual activity. Following his release from prison, Garriga is also required to register as a sex offender and serve a term of supervised release of 10 years. The court also ordered Garriga to forfeit two cellphones that Garriga had used to commit the offense. Garriga entered a guilty plea on July 16, 2024. He was remanded into custody following the sentencing hearing.

According to court documents, Garriga, who at the time was a detective with the gang unit of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO), met the minor victim, who was 17 years old, at church in 2023. Garriga pursued a sexual relationship with the child victim until approximately March 7, 2024. This included reaching up the victim's skirt while she worked serving coffee before church service. At some point, Garriga used his JSO-issued cellphone and an undercover social media account to reach out to the victim and obtained her phone number. Garriga then used his personal cellphone to communicate with the victim, directing their messages to an encrypted app set to automatically delete the messages after 24 hours. Garriga requested nude photos from the victim and sent her nude photos of himself.

On at least two occasions, Garriga used his JSO work vehicle to travel to the victim's neighborhood in Clay County to meet up with her and engage in sexual contact that was illegal under Florida law. On another occasion, Garriga met up with the victim at a coffee shop in Clay County and enticed her to his JSO work vehicle where he engaged in sexual activity with the victim and physically restrained her from leaving the vehicle until she relented and performed a sex act on him.

"This individual violated his position of trust in the community and sought to take advantage of a child for his own satisfaction," said Tim Hemker, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) in Jacksonville. "This conviction stands as a testament to the commitment of HSI and our law enforcement partners with the Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force, including the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. HSI is committed to identify and bring to justice those who exploit the vulnerability of our children."

This case was investigated by the Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force, to include Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, and the Clay County Sheriff's Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Laura Cofer Taylor and Kelly S. Milliron.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.