El Salvador national charged with posting child pornography on Facebook and illegally reentering the US after deportation

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – A Salvadoran national who was deported from the United States in 2003 after being convicted of sexually abusing a child was indicted today by a federal grand jury on charges that he illegally reentered the U.S. and then posted child pornography on Facebook.

José Ramón Aguilar-Moreno, 50, who recently has been living in Fontana, Calif., has been charged with four felonies: distribution of child pornography, possession of child pornography, failure to register as a sex offender, and being an illegal alien who reentered the U.S. following deportation.

The case is the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles, with substantial assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service.

Aguilar-Moreno was arrested by HSI special agents and U.S. Marshal deputies on June 13, pursuant to a criminal complaint previously filed in this case. His arraignment is scheduled for July 5 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

Aguilar-Moreno illegally entered the U.S. in 1986 and in 1995 he applied for relief from removal and requested asylum in the United States, according to an affidavit filed with a criminal complaint in the case. In 2000, Aguilar-Moreno was granted relief from deportation and asylum in the U.S. by the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, the affidavit states.

In August 2002, Aguilar-Moreno was convicted in San Bernardino County Superior Court of committing lewd and lascivious acts on a minor, for which he was sentenced to one year in state prison. In 2003, he was taken into ICE custody and removed to El Salvador.

In June 2018 Aguilar-Moreno, then residing in Fontana, allegedly knowingly distributed three videos depicting child pornography. Aguilar-Moreno used an alias, “Abel Aguilar,” and posted the videos on Facebook, which later notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, court documents allege.

If convicted of all charges, Aguilar-Moreno faces a statutory maximum sentence of 80 years in federal prison. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison on the distribution of child pornography charge and a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence on the child pornography possession charge.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney, Central District of California’s Riverside Branch Office.