News Releases and Statements

During Child Abuse Prevention Month, and after a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, HSI San Juan brought back its iGuardian Summit, a summit focused on keeping children and teens safe from online predators through education and awareness. In its seventh presentation, the event reached more than 1,700 public school students between the ages of 12 and 16 from the Caguas regional district.

Pedro Saldivar Jr., 46, received the sentence without the possibility of parole for one count of transportation of child pornography. 

An HSI Fayetteville investigation revealed that Steven Luckett, 38, sexually assaulted five minor children — some for years. U.S. District Court Judge Lee P. Rudofsky sentenced Luckett.

HSI San Juan special agents arrested Ignacio Manuel Delgado Fernandez in San Juan’s Cupey area for the distribution, receipt, transportation and possession of child sexual abuse material. The Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force assisted in the investigation.

Norman Antoine LeBlanc, age 34, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles to production and attempted production of child pornography. As a result of his conviction, LeBlanc faces imprisonment, fines and a period of supervised release that includes sex offender registration.

The jury convicted Michael A. Ferris, 44, of Mill Shoals, of 25 felony counts of extortion, cyberstalking, and production, distribution and possession of child pornography in November 2022.

Moshe Michael Imel, 53, of Owings, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to two federal charges of production of child pornography involving two minor victims.

An investigation conducted by HSI Washington, D.C. resulted in a 19-year federal prison sentence, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for Chad Michael Lehofer, 37, of Fredericksburg, Virginia.

On April 6, a federal jury convicted Pierre De Romeo Smith of seven charges, including sex trafficking, production of child pornography, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Cecilio Jimenez-Bautista, 26, of Mexico, appeared in federal court April 6 to face charges that he sexually abused a 17-year-old unaccompanied minor he and his brother guided from Tijuana, Mexico, into the United States in June 2022.

Bryan Calderon, 37, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 92 months for the possession of child pornography and 92 months for the distribution of child pornography, both to run concurrently.

Jake Delahney Taylor, a 38-year-old resident of Brazoria, was convicted Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas of sexual exploitation of a child, distribution and possession of child pornography and destruction of property.

A judge sentenced Leon B. Hensley, 42, to 293 months in federal prison on child pornography charges.

According to court records, law enforcement began investigating Jason Robert Wesely, 39, a former member of the Iowa National Guard, after receiving a cyber tip from a social media platform in May 2020.

Elliott Velez, 38, of Surprise, Arizona, received the lengthy prison sentence March 24 for directing underaged girls to produce sexually explicit material for him.

Kristopher Santos, 29, of Laredo, pleaded guilty March 28 before U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña, who accepted his guilty plea for charges related to child pornography.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell ordered Herbert Leonel Diaz, 53, a naturalized citizen of the United States who was born in El Salvador and previously resided in Henderson, to serve eight months in prison for naturalization fraud Feb. 1.

Hugo Benjamin Tijerina, 36, of Pharr, pleaded guilty in federal court March 21 after admitting he received videos and images containing child sexual abuse material on his laptop.

Israel Flores Jr., 21, of Los Fresnos, appeared before a federal judge and admitted to possessing child sexual abuse material on a flash drive he obtained while he was a student at the University of Texas.

A federal judge sentenced Ramiro Helibuerto Cuenca-Campos, 27, of Cuenca Provincia, Azuay, Ecuador to 84 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.

The first HSI investigation led to the Feb. 1 indictment of John W. Balch, 75, of Jacksonville, Florida, and formerly of Frederick; Jane Ellen Campbell, 34, of Hagerstown; and Ashley Marie Tibbs, 32, of Hagerstown, with conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of a child, sexual exploitation of a child and related charges involving five minor victims.

According to court documents, in early 2022, the Springdale Police Department initiated a sexual assault investigation after a 13-year-old female disclosed to a counselor that Pearson Pete Patrick, 39, sexually abused her over the past two years. Officers located Patrick, who admitted to abusing the minor during a post-Miranda interview.

According to court documents, Corey Allen Stephens, 31, used a social media application to chat with others. In the chat, he posted an image of his sexual abuse of a toddler. He boasted that it was “Not the first time I’ve done it.” HSI Chattanooga special agents traced the chat to Stephens’ home, where agents recovered additional evidence of child sexual abuse offenses.

Aaron Negrete, 26, from Laredo, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña.

A federal grand jury in Springfield charged Harold Lloyd Blair Jr., 66, in a three-count superseding indictment.