HSI arrests US Virgin Islands man for sexually enticing a minor

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A 37-year-old man from St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands was arrested Monday for persuading, inducing, coercing and enticing a female minor to engage in criminal sexual conduct. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), working jointly with the U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department’s (USVIPD) Juvenile Division, conducted the investigation that led to the arrest of the St. Thomas resident.

HSI special agents arrested Raheem T. Creque, aka Shano, after they received information from the USVIPD regarding a complaint made by a 17-year-old female who claimed she was being blackmailed and sexually assaulted by Creque.

According to the criminal complaint, Creque contacted the minor in March 2010 when she was 15 years old to tell her he was in possession of a video that depicted her and her minor boyfriend engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The charging document also alleges that Creque demanded the minor have sex with him to prevent him from releasing the video on Facebook.

On Dec. 4, the minor began receiving text messages from a telephone number, later identified to belong to Creque, in which he reiterated the threat to release the video if the minor did not have sex with him. The criminal complaint also alleges the minor begged Creque not to release the video, but later complied with Creque’s demands. On Dec. 12 she met him at her residence where Creque induced the minor into criminal sexual conduct. During the sexual assault, Creque took a picture of the minor which he used to further extort her, threatening her that he would show the picture to her brother and post it on Facebook.

"What is most important about this case is that the victim of child sex abuse was rescued," said Angel M. Melendez, the San Juan-based HSI special agent who oversees the agency’s investigations in Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. "Whenever our investigations reveal the production and distribution of new child pornography, we will do everything we can to rescue the victim and prosecute the abuser. This case is another example of the extraordinary collaborative efforts among law enforcement in the USVI to protect those who can't protect themselves".

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. 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.