Lang
4/18/26
A judge has rejected a plea agreement reached by prosecutors in the case of a North Liberty man accused of trying to entice a minor.
Online records show 39-year-old Jose Arturo De La Cruz Garcia of the Holiday Lodge manufactured housing community reached a plea deal in February. Sentencing was set for Thursday, but at Thursday’s hearing Judge Jason Burns rejected the agreement. A case management conference is now set for Monday.
Iowa City Police say in the summer of 2023 De La Cruz Garcia began communicating online with a person who he believed to be under the age of 16 and asked them to meet him for sex acts. During the communication, De La Cruz Garcia reportedly stated he had condoms, and that his residence would be empty with no one else there while they were using it.
Police say De La Cruz Garcia arranged to meet the other person at Casey’s on Highway 965, where he was taken into custody by police in September of 2023.
De La Cruz Garcia is charged with Enticing a Minor for Sexual Purposes, which carries a maximum five-year prison sentence upon conviction.