Former Salinas respiratory therapist sentenced to 10 years for attempted coercion of minors.

A former respiratory therapist at Salinas Valley Health, Edy Antonio Jr., was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on June 2 for attempted coercion and enticement of two minors to engage in sexual services, followed by 15 years of supervised release.

Antonio Jr., was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 6, 2025 and pleaded guilty on Feb. 9, 2026.

“I’d just like to say I’m sorry. I can't take back what I did, but I can learn from it. I’m happy it's not real, that these girls aren’t being sold but I know it's happening out there, especially in the third-world countries,” Antonio Jr. told investigators according to the criminal complaint filed against him by a special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

According to court filings, on April 21, 2025, Antonio Jr. responded to an online ad he believed depicted two minor girls, ages 12 and 14, offering commercial sex services. He was communicating with an undercover law enforcement officer and no actual victims were involved. He agreed to pay $500 for sexual conduct without a condom and traveled to a Salinas hotel where he was arrested by Salinas Police Department officers.

According to court filings, the 31-year-old first time offender is a husband and father of a 5-year-old son, the survivor of a severely abusive childhood, and a man who, before his arrest, had voluntarily sought treatment for a diagnosed compulsive sexual disorder.

Antonio has been in custody since March 3, 2026, and will begin serving his sentence immediately.