SAN DIEGO — A former Ohio seminary student pleaded guilty in San Diego federal court Wednesday to a plot to rape infant and toddler girls in Mexico.

Joel Alexander Wright, 23, was arrested in January after getting off a plane at Lindbergh Field in San Diego.

He faces at least 10 years in prison when sentenced July 1 on one charge of attempted enticement of a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity.

Wright made his plans clear during frequent and increasingly graphic conversations with a man he met through Craigslist, first in 2014, according to the criminal complaint. The man eventually reported the scheme to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

One ad was posted by Wright in 2015 seeking a tour guide in Tijuana. The informant answered the ad and it became clear that the real intent was procuring infant and toddler girls for sex. An undercover agent took over the conversations with Wright and a plan crystallized to have sex with girls ages 1 and 4, the plea agreement states.

But Wright didn't follow through, even after buying a plane ticket to San Diego.

But investigators say Wright popped up on Craigslist yet again with another ad. The same informant again replied and Wright ended up asking for "the cheapest girl under 3" and then decided to take three young girls who he'd rape at a hotel in Tijuana, the plea agreement says.

Undercover agents again intervened and were at the airport to meet Wright when he landed. In his duffel bag were baby clothes, sleep aids, candy, bottles and toys.

Wright, who is legally blind, had been studying to become a Roman Catholic priest at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus.

"There are no words to describe the horror that might have happened, had an innocent baby been placed in this man's arms," U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said in a statement.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Written by Kristina Davis for The San Diego Union-Tribune

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