Yabucoa Resident Arrested For Child Pornography

SAN JUAN, P.R. – Carlos López-Roldan, 30, was arrested in Caguas on child pornography charges following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents and officers assigned to the Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force (PRCACTF) from the Puerto Rico Police Department, announced United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez.

The defendant was arrested after an HSI investigation revealed that he allegedly used a video recording device to produce nude images of a 12-year-old girl identified as Jane Doe. The HSI investigation stemmed from a Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) referral on Friday afternoon alerting HSI that an individual, later identified as López-Roldan, had allegedly recorded a female minor with a hidden camera in the bathroom of the victim.

López-Roldan had his initial hearing before US Magistrate Judge Bruce McGiverin on Monday March 11, 2013.  He was transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico while he awaits a hearing to determine bail, if any.

“With the recent spate of child exploitation cases, it is apparent that people are missing the message.  If you exploit children by taking images of them engaging in sexually explicit conduct, you will be caught and prosecuted,” said United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez. 

“This case demonstrates that there are serious consequences for producing illegal images of innocent children being sexually exploited and traumatized,” said Angel Melendez, acting special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. “ICE will continue to work with our state, local and other federal law enforcement partners to vigorously investigate child predators and ensure that they feel the full weight of the law.”

In response to the need for an island-wide approach to fighting the escalation of predatory crimes against children, HSI San Juan partnered with members of local, state and federal law enforcement, as well as local and state government officials and community leaders, to form PRCACTF in June 2011.

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 one unified voice in defense of the children of Puerto Rico.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 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, 1-800-843-5678.

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.

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