A federal grand jury in Puerto Rico indicted Leonardo Román Domenech, 39, from Aguadilla, for child exploitation. Román Domenech was arrested by FBI special agents as announced by U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow of the District of Puerto Rico and Acting Special Agent in Charge Devin J. Kowalski of the FBI San Juan Field Office.
Court documents reveal that between July 2021 and October 2021, Román Domenech used a cell phone to produce explicit images of a 15-year-old minor. From July 2021 to August 2024, he also possessed child pornography images.
Román Domenech is charged with sexual exploitation of children, transportation of child exploitation material, and possession of child exploitation material. If convicted, he faces 15 to 30 years in prison for sexual exploitation, 5 to 20 years for transportation of the material, and up to 10 years for possession. All charges include a supervised release from 5 years to life, pending a federal district court judge's decision considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Román Domenech appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Héctor Ramos Vega. His detention hearing is set for April 11, 2025. The case investigation is conducted by the FBI, and prosecution is handled by Assistant US Attorney Emelina Agrait Barreto of the Child Exploitation and Immigration Unit.
The FBI encourages citizens with information on federal crimes to contact its San Juan Field Office or submit tips online. This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. This program unites federal, state, and local resources to track down and prosecute offenders while rescuing victims.
An indictment is an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
