SAN JUAN, P.R. - Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, announced today that United States District Judge Francisco A. Besosa sentenced 38-year-old Shane R. Yoder of Fairfield, CA, to serve a term of imprisonment of fifteen years followed by 20 years of supervised release. On Dec. 16, 2016, Yoder pled guilty to one count of attempted sex trafficking of children, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
In March 2016, the defendant traveled from California to Puerto Rico in order to pay for sex with multiple girls between the ages of 8-11 years of age.
“This case should send a message that human trafficking does, in fact, exist in Puerto Rico," said U.S. Attorney Rodríguez. “Given the fact that human trafficking is a modern form of slavery, we must educate ourselves to protect our children from suffering from this vile form of exploitation"
Project Safe Childhood is an initiative of the Department of Justice aimed at preventing the sexual exploitation of children.
The criminal prosecution was handled by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Cristina Caraballo-Colón.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
