SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – United States Magistrate Judge Marcos E. López authorized a criminal complaint against 33 year-old Marcos A. Rivera-Ramos, charging him with production of child pornography, transfer of obscene material to a minor, coercion and enticement, announced United States Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the arrest.

According to the criminal complaint, on February 2019, the parents of a female minor reported to the FBI that their 15 year-old daughter had received at least one image of an adult male’s penis on her cell phone through the Snapchat application. The female minor told her parents that Marcos A. Rivera-Ramos, an adult who they knew through the church they attend to, and where the defendant serves as an usher, had sent the picture of his penis to her.

According to the investigation, the defendant and the minor were communicating for over one year through Snapchat and WhatsApp. The defendant asked the minor to send him sexually explicit photos and videos and he sent her pictures of his penis.

“Individuals who would take advantage of modern technology to entice and exploit minors deserve special investigative and prosecutorial attention,” said Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “Child sexual exploitation is an alarming problem in our society. We are committed to work closely with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute these predators to the full extent of the law.”

“Protecting our children from these terrifying and dangerous threats is among the most important work that the FBI does, and we will continue to make every effort to catch anyone involved in this type of conduct,” stated Douglas A. Leff, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Puerto Rico.

FBI encourages the public to call (787) 754-6000 to report any information that may lead to the identification and rescue of additional victims regarding this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ginette Milanes is prosecuting the case. If convicted defendant faces a mandatory minimum term of 15 years’ incarceration up to a maximum term of 30 years.  A criminal complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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