ICE arrests 5 Puerto Rican men for producing child pornography
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents arrested five Puerto Rican men on Wednesday for producing child pornography.
The June 8 indictment led to the arrest of the following men, all from Puerto Rico: Rey Vilanova-Delgado, 31, of Fajardo; Félix Javier González-Morales, 29, of Canovanas; Zairo Ramos, 29, of Rio Piedras; Félix Rodríguez-Acevedo, 32, of Caguas; and Roberto Encarnacion Ruiz, 32 of Guaynabo. The indictment charges that from about May 2010 through June 2010, while aiding and abetting each other, the men employed, used, persuaded, induced, enticed or coerced a female minor, identified by the initials "KMV," to engage in sexually explicit conduct. KMV was induced to lasciviously perform sexual acts which the men recorded on a digital still camera and a video camera to illegally produce child pornography. These still and video images were then mailed, shipped and transported in interstate or foreign commerce.
Vilanova-Delgado is also facing a charge for possessing child pornography.
"In less than 24 hours since the official launching of the ICE-led Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force (PRCACTF), ICE and its partners in the Puerto Rico Police and San Juan Police Departments, Puerto Rico Department of Justice, and other members of the task force were able to arrest these five individuals on child pornography-related charges," said Roberto Escobar Vargas, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in San Juan. "These arrests should serve as notice to any individual or criminal organization that perpetrates these despicable crimes against our children."
If convicted, the five men face at least 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison.
This case is part of Operation Predator, an ICE-led initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers. ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators by calling 1-866-DHS-2ICE.
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