SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On October 21, 2026, United States District Court Judge Aida Delgado Colón sentenced Ángel Javier Santos-Méndez to 260 months (21 years and 8 months) in prison followed by 20 years of supervised release for child exploitation charges against a female minor victim. Santos-Méndez, 34, from Caguas, PR, was indicted on October 30, 2025, arrested on November 5, 2025, and pleaded guilty on April 16, 2026.
According to court documents, on September 22, 2025, Ángel Javier Santos-Méndez knowingly employed, used, and coerced his 2-year-old female minor daughter to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct, that is images of lascivious exhibition of the minor’s genital area. The visual depictions were produced using his cellular device. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force received information from the Police of Puerto Rico regarding the allegations that Defendant had sexually abused and recorded sexually explicit images of the minor female. The investigation led to the arrest and prosecution of Santos-Méndez.
“Child sexual abuse is a depraved criminal act that harms the most innocent among us,” said Héctor Ramírez-Carbó, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “While prosecuting a predator like Santos-Méndez can’t undo that damage, his prison sentence prevents him from causing further harm and provides his victim justice. I thank our dedicated team of prosecutors, victim witness coordinator, support personnel, as well as our dedicated law enforcement partners and their relentless efforts against child exploitation and to bring offenders to justice.”
“Defenseless children may not have a voice, but they are not helpless. This individual abused his own 2-year-old daughter to produce child sexual abuse material, a heinous act that demands accountability,” said Yariel Ramos, Acting Special Agent in Charge, HSI San Juan. “HSI is vigilant and will protect children who were not protected by the very people responsible for their care. This sentence sends a clear message: HSI and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue offenders and hold them accountable so they won’t hurt one more victim.”
The Department of Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case with the collaboration of the Puerto Rico Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Elba Gorbea of the Child Exploitation and Immigration Unit, prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Puerto Rico — U.S. Department of Justice press release.