Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that LUCIANO MENDEZ-ROJAS was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 21 years in prison for sexually exploiting a child and distributing images and videos of child pornography over the Internet. MENDEZ-ROJAS pled guilty in June 2012. He was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “By his conduct, Luciano Mendez-Rojas stole the innocence of one child and exploited countless others. We have zero tolerance for child predators like Mendez-Rojas and his ilk and will prosecute and punish them with the full force of the law."
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In July 2011, MENDEZ-ROJAS and his co-defendant, Inocencia Ortega, engaged in
sexually explicit conduct in their home in the Bronx, New York, while their minor child filmed videos of the conduct at the direction of MENDEZ-ROJAS.
On February 9, 2011, MENDEZ-ROJAS distributed child pornography over the Internet
using file-sharing software.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Engelmayer sentenced MENDEZ-ROJAS, 39, a citizen of Mexico, to eight years of supervised release. He must also register as a sex offender. Ortega is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Engelmayer on April 26, 2013 at 2:15 p.m.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the New York City Police Department.
The case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United
States Attorneys Kristy J. Greenberg and Daniel C. Richenthal are in charge of the prosecution.
ICE HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious
activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423. This hotline is staffed around the clock
by investigators.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
