Manati School security guard indicted for child exploitation
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico October 12 2023— On Oct. 6, special agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested Pedro Juan Molina-Falconi, a 34-year-old security guard from a school in Barceloneta.
A federal grand jury indicted Molina-Falconi on three counts of coercion and enticement of a minor, receipt of child exploitation material, and transfer of obscene material to a minor on Oct. 5. The HSI-led investigation was conducted in collaboration with the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB) and the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDE).
According to court documents, between June and August 2023, Molina-Falconi used a cellphone and an instant messaging platform to coerce a 15-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity. During the same period, the security guard knowingly received child exploitation material and transferred obscene material to the girl.
“The defendant in this case was a security guard of a school in Manati, holding a position of public trust. He used his position of trust to take advantage of a minor within the safe space of our schools,” said HSI San Juan Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Gonzalez-Ramos. “HSI prioritizes the safety and well-being of our children, working together with the PRPB and the PRDE, to create a secure learning environment, we will not tolerate predators’ presence in our schools.”
If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor; a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years for receipt of child exploitation material; and up to 10 years in prison for the transfer of obscene material to a minor. A federal district court judge will determine his sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. After his initial appearance in court, the defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Emelina Agrait-Barreto of the Child Exploitation and Immigration Unit is prosecuting the case.
“These types of crimes cause immeasurable harm to both the child victims and their families,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico W. Stephen Muldrow. “We will continue to work closely with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to identify, prosecute and hold accountable those who exploit our children.”
For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from sexual predators, visit ICE’s Project iGuardian page. To report suspicious activity, call 787-729-6969.
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.
