Puerto Rican man sentenced to 15 years for production of child pornography

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A 26-year-old man was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised released, for production of child pornography. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force (PRCACTF) conducted the investigation leading to the 15-year sentence.

On Sept. 5, 2013, Pedro Luis Baez-Torres, of Cidra, was arrested at his place of work in Cayey after an HSI investigation, stemming from a Puerto Rico Police Department referral, revealed he allegedly requested sexually explicit images from a 14-year-old female minor.

According to the criminal complaint, Baez-Torres obtained the victim's Kik nickname through one of her classmates. Kik is a smartphone application that allows users to communicate by video and instant message over the Internet. During the initial conversations between Baez-Torres and the victim, Baez-Torres asked her to send him pictures of her fully clothed, but the requests turned more demanding when he began to request more sexually explicit photos. The complaint further alleges that the victim complied with Baez-Torres's requests and sometime between May and July she sent Baez-Torres more than 30 images of herself completely nude in various sexually explicit poses.

On Aug. 26, 2013, HSI special agents executed a federal search warrant at Baez-Torres residence in Cidra and seized his cellular phone. A preliminary forensic examination of the cellular phone revealed the presence of approximately 122 images depicting the victim in a sexually explicit manner.

"Production of child pornography is a serious crime and a form of child exploitation that HSI will not tolerate," said Angel M. Melendez, special agent in charge of HSI San Juan. "Producing a sexually explicit image of a minor shall end you in prison whether the transmission of such sexually explicit material is voluntary or not."

In June 2011, the Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force (PRCACTF) was created by HSI San Juan to respond to the need for an island-wide approach to fighting the escalating number of predatory crimes against children. The task force is a partnership between HSI San Juan and members of local, state and federal law enforcement, as well as local and state government officials and community leaders.

Through PRCACTF, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies work together with local and state government agencies to effectively pool their resources to jointly investigate all crimes against children in Puerto Rico. Through the task force, law enforcement officers are encouraged to share evidence, ideas, and investigative and forensic tools to ensure the most successful prosecutions possible. As such, PRCACTF allows law enforcement to speak with a unified voice in defense of the children of Puerto Rico.

The task force and its investigations are part of HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2015, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. 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.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.