A federal grand jury in McAllen just charged a Rio Grande City man. The new charge covers the same weeks as an earlier Snapchat case. That case involved an 11 year old girl. El Tejano first told you about it in May. Armando Jaaziel Moreno already faced two state felony charges from that case. Now he faces a federal charge too.

This shows how fast a local case can turn into a federal case. Federal prosecutors step in when someone uses a phone or an app to reach a child. Court papers say that is what Moreno did.

El Tejano first told you about Moreno in May. Starr County deputies arrested him on February 25. They came for him while he was live on TikTok.

Deputies said a mom found sex messages on her daughter's phone. The girl was 11. The messages were between her and Moreno on Snapchat. Moreno wrote about sex acts. He also wrote about meeting the girl alone at her house.

Deputies also found a video from February 2. It showed Moreno walking into the girl's house. He did not have her parents' okay. Photos on the girl's phone showed the two of them kissing in bed.

He was arrested and booked on two state felony charges in February. One was burglary of a home to commit a sex crime. That charge can mean 5 to 99 years in prison, or life. The other was online solicitation of a child under 14. That charge can mean 2 to 20 years in prison.

On August 4, a federal grand jury added a new charge on top of those. The indictment covers January 29 to February 6, 2026. Court papers say Moreno used a phone or an app to push a girl into sex. He believed she was under 18. Under Texas law, that would count as sexual assault of a child. Court records list the count as coercion or enticement. It falls under a federal law. That law covers using a phone or the internet to push a minor into a sex crime.

Federal prosecutors also want Moreno's two phones if he is found guilty. Court papers list a white iPhone and a black iPhone.

Moreno was already in jail on the state charges when the federal case hit. Prosecutors used a special court order to bring him over. He had his first federal court hearing on August 20. He asked for a free lawyer. The court gave him one.

At that hearing, the court also fixed his name. Old paperwork said Armando Moreno. His full name is Armando Jaaziel Moreno. A judge ordered him held for now. Today, August 25, he has a hearing on the charge and on bail.

The case first went to Judge John Marck. He stepped aside. Chief Judge Randy Crane runs the case now. Court papers set jury picking for October 6. That date can still change as the case moves along.

Cases like this keep popping up across the Rio Grande Valley. Kids spend hours a day on apps like Snapchat and TikTok. A parent is not always watching every message. Checking a child's phone often is one of the few ways parents catch this kind of danger early.

Moreno has not been found guilty of anything. The law says he is innocent until a jury says otherwise. El Tejano will keep following this case in federal court.