A Modesto man who at one time fled the country to escape charges lodged against him for having sex with a Turlock teenage girl, has accepted a plea deal that will have him incarcerated for three years.

Eladio Ramirez Tizoc, 24, entered a no contest plea to one felony charge of committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age, according to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office. In return, the district attorney’s office agreed to drop eight other charges against him, including sodomy, penetration with a foreign object, and lewd and unlawful sexual intercourse.

In addition to the three years in prison, Tizoc will have to register as a sex offender and stay away from the victim.

The charges against Tizoc stem from encounters he had with a young Turlock girl that he initially met on Instagram.  According to court records, Tizoc started following the 13-year-old on the social media site and eventually began sending her comments on her photos. The two agreed to meet and continued to see one another over a four week time span, during which time the girl turned 14.

The situation came to light on the morning of Nov. 24, 2013, when an individual reported seeing a young girl sitting alongside a Turlock road crying. The responding Turlock Police officer learned from the girl that she had left her home without anyone knowing and when she returned a light was on inside and she was afraid to go back inside. Upon further questioning, the officer uncovered the girl’s meetings with Tizoc and called in detectives.

Detectives were able to locate Tizoc through his Instagram account and he was taken into custody on Dec. 4, 2013, at his Modesto residence. Tizoc was scheduled for a court hearing on Jan. 3, 2014, but never appeared.

The Homeland Security Investigations unit in Mexico received credible information Tizoc had left the United States and was hiding in Mexico, according to the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement agency, which began featuring Tizoc on the Operation Predator app.

Tizoc was on the run for 10 months before he was apprehended trying to cross the border back into the United States. He has been held in custody ever since his capture.

Tizoc is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 18, and under the plea agreement is expected to get a three year prison sentence, according to the district attorney’s office.