SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Yesterday, a federal grand jury indicted Puerto Rico Police Officer Claudé Luis Merced-Aponte, 49, for possession and receipt of child pornography, announced Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. Today, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) arrested him without incident.
Count one of the Indictment alleges that on or about April 7, 2015, Merced-Aponte did knowingly possess material which contained images of child pornography, that is, images of minors and prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Count two alleges that in or about the year 2012 the defendant received, via the Internet, similar images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Claudé Luis Merced-Aponte is also facing a Forfeiture Allegation which includes various computers, cellular phones, external hard drives and memory sticks. The defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison if he is found guilty.
“No one is above the law, no matter what rank or badge a person might hold," said United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. “Exploitation by those entrusted to enforce the law strikes at the heart of our criminal justice system, and it will not be tolerated. This case lays bare a disgraceful attempt by a veteran police officer to mistakenly believe that he could commit heinous crimes against children and hide in the shadows. The Justice Department will fight criminals wherever we find them, even within the ranks of law enforcement."
“These allegations are particularly troubling and disturbing because of Mr. Merced-Aponte’s position of trust as a law enforcement officer," said Angel M. Melendez, special agent in charge of HSI San Juan. “Identifying people who violate their positions of public trust by contributing to the exploitation of children is a top priority for HSI as our statistics show. This year, we have seen an alarming increase of 47 percent in these cases as compared to fiscal year 2014. We cannot, and will not, tolerate that. HSI will continue identifying, arresting and prosecuting those who attempt against the safety and security of our children regardless of who they are."
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Cristina Caraballo, from the Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Unit, is in charge of the prosecution of the case. Indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
