Two Individuals Indicted and Arrested for Coercion and Enticement, and Sex Trafficking of a Minor

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging Juan Carlos Peña-Luguera, 39, and Joshua Jandel Pérez-Lebrón, 20, with coercion and enticement of a minor, sex trafficking of minors, and receipt of child pornography. The FBI is in charge of the investigation and is seeking information from the public regarding these two individuals.

According to court documents, from July 2023 through December 2023, the defendants knowingly recruited, enticed, harbored, and solicited a male minor, between the ages of 16 and 17 years old, knowing and in reckless disregard of the fact that the male victim had not attained the age of 18 years, to engage in a commercial sex act. The defendants used cellular phones, as well as internet instant messaging services to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce the male minor to engage in sexual activity. In addition, Peña-Luguera and Pérez-Lebrón are charged with receipt of child exploitation material, that is, images and videos depicting a male minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct via an instant messaging application using a cellular telephone.

“Those who engage in child exploitation, including the sex trafficking of children and possession of child sexual abuse material, will be held accountable for their criminal conduct,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “The United States Attorney’s Office and law enforcement agencies will continue to take full advantage of our investigative tools and prosecution powers in order to protect our children from sexual predators. We want to remind the public 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.”

If you have been a victim of these subjects or know someone who may have been, call the FBI San Juan Field Office at 787-987-6500. We need the public to come forward, it is everyone’s responsibility to keep our children safe. 

“Sex trafficking of children is and will continue to be a priority for our office,” said Joseph González, Special Agent in charge of the FBI’s San Juan Field Office. “We want victims and their families to know that the FBI is here for them and will continue to pursue these cases aggressively. There is no place in our society for those who exploit our youth. Witnesses and victims can trust that we will protect them and that all available federal government resources will be at their disposal.”

If convicted, the defendants face the following possible sentences: a minimum of 10 years up to life in prison for enticement and coercion of a minor and sex trafficking charges, and not less than 5 years up to 20 years of imprisonment for the receipt of child pornography, followed by a term of supervised release of 5 years up to life. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daynelle Álvarez-Lora of the Child Exploitation and Immigration Unit is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.justice.gov/psc.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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