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March 1, 2015San Juan, PR, United StatesChild Exploitation

ICE arrests 2 men, 1 woman on child exploitation charges

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Two men and one woman were arrested Thursday and Friday on child exploitation charges. The investigations leading to the arrests were conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force (PRCACTF).  

On Friday, HSI special agents arrested Naara Elisa Cruz-Vilar, 28, of San Juan, for transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual conduct. According to the criminal complaint, Cruz-Vilar, a special education teacher at a local school, transported a 15-year-old minor student to her residence with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with him.

On Thursday, HSI special agents arrested Argenis Manuel Gil-Inoa, 32, of San Juan, for possession of child pornography and transportation of child pornography material. The HSI investigation leading to the arrest of Gil-Inoa stemmed from a referral by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), which detected the upload of approximately 90 images containing child pornography from Gil-Inoa's email and computer IP address. HSI special agents executed a search warrant at Gil-Inoa's residence Thursday and seized a computer whose forensic examination yielded several images depicting female minors approximately five to 13 years old engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

In a separate case, HSI special agents also arrested Raul Arnaldo Gomez-Cruz, 19, of Ponce, Thursday for production and attempted production of child pornography. According to the criminal complaint, the HSI investigation stemmed from a referral by the Puerto Rico Police Department's Sex Crimes Division in Ponce regarding the sexual exploitation and extortion of two minors. The criminal complaint alleges that Gomez-Cruz extorted the two minors by threatening to post online the sexually explicit images he had received from them.

Cruz-Vilar, Gil-Inoa and Gómez-Cruz had their initial hearings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sylvia Carreño-Coll Friday. They were transferred to the Guaynabo Metropolitan Detention Center awaiting the outcome of their cases.

"The increase of child exploitation cases in our jurisdiction is simply alarming," said Angel M. Melendez, special agent in charge of HSI San Juan. "This week alone we arrested five individuals on child exploitation charges for a total of 25 arrests during fiscal year 2015. HSI will continue investigating child exploitation cases in all its forms. Our special agents, working jointly with our federal, state and local partners,  will continue using their unique and robust investigative authorities to identify, apprehend and prosecute those who, very unfortunately and despite of our efforts, think they can abuse of our children and get away with it."  

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.

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 10,000 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.

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