Ex-Youth Minister Gets 27 Years For Sex With Minor

Eric Michael Manual has been sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for engaging in sexual activity with a minor.

Manual was a former youth minister at St. Thomas More Catholic High School and federal prosecutor Luke Walker says they found sexual images of more than 100 boys on Manuel's cellphone.

U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote also sentenced the 23-year-old Manuel to 15 years of supervised probation after he is released from federal prison.

There was a 20-count indictment against Manuel in 2012.  Two of the charges against him were that he had sex with one boy.  The other charges accused Manuel of producing pornography with 18 minors.

After Manuel was received his 27-year sentence, Judge Foote dropped the remaining 19 charges.

According to U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley, 23-year-old Eric Manuel of Lafayette admitted he would “text underage boys to convince them to engage in sexual acts.”

He paid at least two boys to let him perform oral sex on them, and he tried to entice a third boy to do the same thing.

Manuel also admitted to creating a Facebook page on which he would pretend to be a young girl. He convinced at least 18 boys between the ages of 13 and 17 to send him “sexually explicit images and videos of themselves,” Finley said.

At least one boy refused to send such images to Manuel, and according to Finley, he threatened him.