Yoandris Jose Ruiz Bello, a 32-year-old Venezuelan national, pleaded guilty on Aug. 4 to attempted production of child sexual abuse material and attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor in Ocala, Florida. Ruiz Bello faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in federal prison for the attempted production charge, as well as a maximum penalty of 10 years for the attempted transfer offense.
According to the plea agreement, on August 21, 2024, Ruiz Bello engaged in an online sexually explicit conversation with someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl. During this exchange, he asked the minor to create and send him a sexually explicit video and also sent an explicit photograph of male genitalia. The individual was actually an undercover special agent with Homeland Security Investigations.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, which was launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 as a nationwide initiative against child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project brings together federal, state, and local resources through United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section to identify offenders and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, individuals can visit www.justice.gov/psc.