Federal authorities today arrested three people at the luxurious Palmas del Mar complex in Humacao, reported Joseph González, the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Puerto Rico.
The official briefly indicated that one of the cases is related to human sex trafficking involving a minor and another to white-collar crimes.
Regarding the case involving the teenager, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico indicted Juan Carlos Peña-Luguera, 39, and Joshua Jandel Pérez-Lebrón, 20, for the crimes of coercion of a minor and human trafficking.
According to court documents, between July and December 2023, the defendants recruited, enticed, harbored, and solicited a minor between the ages of 16 and 17 to engage in sexual acts for commercial purposes.
The two men used their cell phones, the Internet, and messaging services to persuade, induce, and coerce the minor into engaging in such conduct without being of legal age to consent.
It is also alleged that Peña-Luguera and Pérez-Lebrón possessed images and videos depicting the teenager in sexually explicit conduct.
“Those involved in child exploitation, including the sexual trafficking of minors and possession of child sexual abuse material, will be held accountable for their criminal conduct,” stated W. Stephen Muldrow, director of the federal prosecutor’s office for the District of Puerto Rico, in a press release.
The official committed to keeping his office active in these investigations as they have the tools to detect and prosecute this type of crime to protect children from predators.
He also urged the public to report any inappropriate conduct observed involving a child to the authorities. “The sexual trafficking of minors will continue to be a priority for our office. We want the victims and their families to know that the FBI is here for them and will continue to aggressively pursue these cases. There is no place in our society for those who exploit our youth,” González responded.
He also emphasized that victims and witnesses can count on the protection of the federal agency.
If convicted, the defendants face a possible sentence of a minimum of 10 years to life imprisonment for the coercion and enticement of a minor and the charges of sex trafficking of minors. For receiving child pornography, they face 5 to 20 years in prison and supervised release from 5 years to life.
Prosecutor Daynelle Álvarez-Lora, from the Child Exploitation and Immigration Unit, is in charge of the case, which is part of the “Save Our Children” project, a broad initiative to combat this epidemic of abuse and sexual exploitation of minors launched in May 2006 by the federal Department of Justice.
These accusations are mere allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
