According to the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office, a former high school math instructor who was caught in a sting operation seeking for men wanting to have sex with underage girls will spend up to 10 years in jail.
The local Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit conducted an investigation that led to the arrest of Reno resident Justin Michael Sortino, 36.
Sortino believed that he was setting up sex with a 14-year-old girl via the internet in early 2021. He was taken into custody by HEAT detectives.
Sortino entered a guilty plea in April to two counts: one of using a computer to entice a kid to engage in sexual activity and another of attempting to allow a minor, age 14 or older, to be sexually portrayed in a performance.
Sortino was a high school math instructor, according to Deputy District Attorney Darcy Cameron, who testified at the sentencing. He utilized this information in messages with the alleged 14-year-old girl to enhance his manipulation of her. Sortino voluntarily left his teaching post at Sparks High School in 2016 following an inquiry into a student’s alleged sexual assault. The student attended a different school and was 18 when they had intercourse, thus he was ultimately not arrested.
Cameron used that behavior as the basis for each offense receiving a 30-year sentence. Sortino was given a 10-year term for each offense.
