U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Newark has arrested four more individuals illegally present in the United States with histories of child exploitation, bringing the total number of recent arrests in this ongoing operation to eight.
ICE Homeland Security Investigations, supported by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Newark, apprehended Daniel Garcia Cruz, a 35-year-old Mexican national, on August 3 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Garcia was previously sentenced to three years of probation following a conviction for criminal sexual contact on March 24, 2023, in Hudson County's Superior Court.
On July 24, ICE HSI and ERO Newark arrested Manuel Gregorio Loja Loja and Leonidas Rivera Gonzalez. Loja, a 36-year-old Ecuadorian national, received a three-year probation sentence around June 24, 2024, from Essex County's Superior Court for false imprisonment and cruelty and neglect of children. Rivera, a 40-year-old Salvadorian national, was sentenced to parole supervision for life after being found guilty of endangering-sexual conduct with a child by a non-caretaker around July 14, 2023, in Hudson County's Superior Court.
Jeferson Isaac Flores Pineda, a 19-year-old Honduran national, was arrested by ICE HSI and ERO Newark on July 31 in West New York, New Jersey. The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office had previously arrested Flores for aggravated sexual assault and false imprisonment on June 6, 2022. On December 1, 2023, the Juvenile Court of Hudson County convicted him of false imprisonment.
According to ICE officials, Garcia, Loja and Rivera entered the United States at unknown times and locations without inspection or parole from an immigration officer. Flores was first encountered by U.S. Border Patrol on April 14, 2019 in Hidalgo, Texas; he was determined to be present illegally but later had his immigration case terminated by an immigration judge in Newark in June 2022.
Four other individuals were arrested before July 21 as part of the same initiative targeting those with histories of child exploitation:
- Gerson Jose Saenz Umana is a Salvadorian national and registered sex offender whose criminal history includes child exploitation.
- Javier Garcia Nicolasa is a Mexican national who was convicted on December 1, 2023 of endangering sexual conduct with a child by caretaker and sentenced to three years in prison.
- Juan Villatoro Valle is a Salvadorian national who was convicted on August 2, 2019 for sexual assault involving a victim under age thirteen; he received five years in prison.
- Reyes Peralta-Salazar is a Mexican national who was arrested September 14, 2023 for criminal sexual conduct and endangering – sexual conduct with child; he received a sentence of six months in jail.
All individuals are required to register as sex offenders within New Jersey and remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
ICE agencies coordinated efforts with the Department of Homeland Security Cyber Crimes Center Child Exploitation Investigations Unit to proactively target these offenders residing within the U.S.
Members of the public are encouraged to report crimes or suspicious activity by calling the hotline at (866) DHS-2-ICE or submitting information through an online tip form.
