5 Puerto Rican men arrested on child exploitation charges

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – In less than two weeks, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents, working jointly with Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force (PCACTF), arrested five residents of Carolina, Bayamon, Camuy and Gurabo on child exploitation charges.

On Sept. 3, HSI special agents arrested Wilfredo Rivera-Ruiz, 49, of Carolina, for possessing and transporting child pornography. He was also charged for being a felon in possession of a firearm. On Sept. 9, Waldemar Cuadrado-Tolentino, 34, of Bayamon, was arrested for downloading child pornography through a file sharing application. One day later HSI special agents arrested Efrain Rivas-Santiago, 67, of Carolina, for transporting and possessing child pornography involving prepubescent minors. Likewise, on Sept. 14, Angel M. Acevedo-Cruzado, 35, of Camuy and Carlos Rafael Ocasio-Febres, 20, of Gurabo, were arrested on child exploitation charges. Both men were charged with receipt and possession of child pornography involving prepubescent minors.

“But we can’t arrest our way out of this problem – research shows one in 25 children ages 10 to 17 have received an online sexual overture where the person attempted to meet the child face-to-face. Sexual predators are on the Internet every day looking for victims to exploit. We need to arm our children and their caregivers with the information they need to protect themselves against predators who are lurking online in search of new victims to exploit.”

In response to the need for an island-wide approach in the fight against 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 the PRCACTF in June 2011.

The cases will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Unit.

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 conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. 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-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page. 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.