Harrison Twp. man avoids prison after child sex sting featured on TV show

Chris Hansen of "Takedown with Chris Hansen" interviews Eric Cruz-Figueroa during the second episode of the latest season. To see the full episode, go to watchtrublu.com. Photo courtesy TruBlu

Credit: TruBlu

Credit: TruBlu

Chris Hansen of "Takedown with Chris Hansen" interviews Eric Cruz-Figueroa during the second episode of the latest season. To see the full episode, go to watchtrublu.com. Photo courtesy TruBlu

A 32-year-old Harrison Twp. man who tried to meet a person he thought was a 15-year-old boy for sex will not go to prison.

Eric Cruz-Figueroa was sentenced Wednesday by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman to up to five years of probation after he pleaded guilty May 31 to importuning, according to court documents filed Thursday.

Cruz-Figueroa was one of three men arrested March 29 during a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office task force sting joined by television journalist Chris Hansen and his show “Takedown with Chris Hansen.”

The second episode of the fourth season, available for streaming on TruBlu, centers on Cruz-Figueroa, who drove to Vandalia to the house used for the task force sting dubbed “Operation Intercept.”

When he stepped inside the house and into the living room, he was handcuffed and interviewed by detectives, with the aid of an interpreter.

Eric Cruz-Figueroa

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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Credit: Montgomery County Jail

He later agreed to sit and talk on-camera with Hansen. Through an interpreter, Cruz-Figueroa, originally from Puerto Rico, told Hansen he was having troubles with his boyfriend and wanted to have some fun. He also said that he had never before tried to meet with an underage boy.

As part of his plea, a felony charge of possession of criminal tools was dismissed.

Cruz-Figueroa also was labeled a Tier I sex offender, which will require him to register his address each year for 15 years.

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