CAYEY, Puerto Rico-A 67-year-old man was arrested here today by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents for allegedly being in possession of child pornography in violation of United States Code (USC) 18, Section 2252.

Guillermo Rivera-Cartagena was referred to ICE by the Puerto Rico Police Department after he allegedly attempted to develop photographs containing images of what appeared to be a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct at a local wholesale store.

Rivera-Cartagena was indicted on Aug. 1, 2006. He was arrested at his residence without incident.

“Through Operation Predator, ICE has been able to apprehend and bring to justice those who hurt and exploit our children,” said Lydia St. John-Mellado, acting special agent-in-charge of ICE investigations in Puerto Rico. “We will simply not tolerate child predators in our jurisdiction.”

Manufacturing, distributing and possessing child pornography carries a penalty of 30, 20 or 10 years in prison, respectively. The manufacturing of child pornography also carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years.

This arrest was part of a nationwide initiative known as Operation Predator. Operation Predator protects our children from sexual predators, including those who travel across continents to have sex with minors. Internet child pornographers and criminal alien sex offenders and child traffickers are also a priority for ICE. Since the initiative was launched in July of 2003, there have been more than 8,000 individuals arrested nationwide.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http:/www.cybertipline.com.

-- ICE --