Man sentenced to 21 years in prison for sexually exploiting a child, distributing child pornography

NEW YORK — A Bronx man was sentenced to 21 years in prison April 16 for sexually exploiting a child and distributing images and videos of child pornography over the Internet.

The sentence is the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the New York City Police Department (NYPD).

Luciano Mendez-Rojas, 39, a citizen of Mexico, pleaded guilty in June 2012.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In July 2011, Mendez-Rojas and his co-defendant, Inocencia Ortega, engaged in sexually explicit conduct in their home in The Bronx, while their minor child filmed videos of the conduct at the direction of Mendez-Rojas. On Feb. 9, 2011, Mendez-Rojas distributed child pornography over the Internet using file-sharing software.

In addition to the prison term, Mendez-Rojas was sentenced to eight years of supervised release. He must also register as a sex offender. Ortega is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer April 26 at 2:15 p.m.

This investigation is part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI 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. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.