Former Puerto Rico Police Officer Sentenced On Child Pornography Charges

SAN JUAN, P.R. – Yesterday, Gabriel Rodríguez-Pacheco, a former Puerto Rico Police Officer was sentenced to 21.8 years in prison for production of child pornography and for possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor, announced Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

On August 8, 2017, after a three-day trial, Rodríguez-Pacheco was convicted of 16 counts for separately using three minor females to produce sexually explicit images and videos, and of one count for possessing sexually explicit images of a prepubescent minor, younger than 12 years of age, presumably downloaded from the internet.

During trial, the evidence showed that the Rodríguez-Pacheco requested sexually explicit images from one minor he met online. He took photos of himself having sex with a second minor he met in a fast food restaurant while on duty wearing his police uniform. He also took photos of himself having sex with yet another third minor he knew personally through his family. In each case, he stored the images and videos on his personal computer as part of a collection of images and videos of women with whom he had sex. These images and videos of the minors were Rodríguez-Pacheco’s "trophies" of his many sexual exploits.

"The U.S. Department of Justice, through its Project Safe Childhood, will continue prosecuting sexual predators of minors, especially those in positions of public trust," said United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. "Children are the most vulnerable and innocent victims in our society; they deserve every measure of protection we can give them. The public should be reminded to report all inappropriate behavior with children to their local authorities and together, local and federal law enforcement, will see that justice is carried out."

"ICE will not tolerate the exploitation of the most vulnerable members of our society and will continue working with our partners in the Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force to investigate those who exploit our children and deprive them of their innocence," said Orlando Baez, acting special agent in charge of HSI San Juan. "This case is particularly alarming as the defendant held a position of trust as a Puerto Rico Police Department police officer even though he had been suspended at the time of his arrest in March 2015. Make no mistake, HSI will continue to investigate and apprehend those who exploit our children, especially those who betray the trust placed in them by committing these despicable acts."

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marshal D. Morgan, Coordinator of the Project Safe Childhood initiative. The case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.