Marlon Jefferson Fajardo-Paiz, a 22-year-old citizen of Guatemala, was sentenced on Apr. 28 to eight years and one month in federal prison for possessing child sexual abuse material and illegally reentering the United States after deportation. U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber handed down the sentence following Fajardo-Paiz's guilty plea on November 13, 2025, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe.
The case is significant as it addresses both the crime of possessing child sexual abuse material and illegal reentry into the country after prior removal, highlighting ongoing efforts to combat these offenses.
Court documents show that Fajardo-Paiz had previously been removed from the United States on July 20, 2018, and did not have permission from either the Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland Security to return. On April 24, 2025, investigators from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office interviewed him during an inquiry into a Cybertip about uploaded illicit content online. During questioning, Fajardo-Paiz admitted to viewing, downloading, and transmitting such materials; authorities later found at least twenty items of child sexual abuse material on his cellphone.
The investigation was conducted by both the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg prosecuted the case.
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood—a Department of Justice initiative started in May 2006 aimed at fighting child exploitation crimes nationwide by combining federal, state, and local resources to identify offenders and protect victims.
