Former San Juan Police Department commissioner pleads guilty to possession of child pornography

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The former commissioner of the San Juan Police Department pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gustavo Gelpi. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), working jointly with the Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force (PRCACTF), conducted the investigation that led to the arrest and subsequent guilty plea of the former commissioner.

On Dec. 8, 2011, Hilton Cordero-Rosario, 52, was arrested by HSI special agents on production and possession of child pornography charges. According to the 21-count indictment, Cordero-Rosario had in his computer and other electronic media visual images and video files depicting actual minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct such as depictions of the lascivious exhibition of the genital areas of minors and simulated as well as actual sexual acts with minors. He pleaded guilty Friday to count 21 of the indictment (possession of child pornography) signing a plea agreement that entails a sentence of 10 years in prison.

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 the task force, law enforcement officers are encouraged to share evidence, ideas, and investigative and forensic tools to ensure the most successful prosecutions possible.

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.