SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – United States District Court Chief Judge Raúl Arias-Marxuach sentenced Aníbal Joel Burgos-Vargas to 21 years and 10 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for transporting a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. Burgos-Vargas was indicted on November 17, 2021 and plead guilty on October 17, 2022.

According to court documents, from October 2020 to October 2021, Aníbal Joel Burgos-Vargas, 27 years old, transported and sexually assaulted a male minor when between the ages of 9 and 10. The defendant used a cellular phone to record the minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

“The defendant engaged in devastating acts of sexual exploitation against a defenseless child and produced videos of his sexual abuse for his personal gratification. Child pornography and exploitation are intolerable crimes committed against children, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue our commitment to prosecute these criminals to the fullest extent of the law,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

“This sentencing is a clear message to those individuals that are considering harming our children, HSI agents work long hours investigating these heinous crimes,” stated Rebecca C. González-Ramos, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations.  “It is our responsibility as a society to come together and protect our children.”

The Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenifer Hernández-Vega, Chief of the Child Exploitation and Immigration Unit, prosecuted the case.

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