A Clinton, Maryland, man is headed to federal prison for nearly three decades in connection with child sex abuse crimes.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Juan Carlos Puente, 48, of Clinton, Maryland, to more than 27 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for producing and possessing child sexual abuse material. Additionally, as part of his plea agreement, Puente must register as a sex offender in places where he resides, is an employee, and is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva, Department of Justice (DOJ) – Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office.
As detailed in court documents, between approximately October 1, 2021, and April 22, 2022, Puente enticed a minor victim, who resided in the Dominican Republic, to engage in unlawful sexual activity and produce child pornography. Specifically, through Facebook messages, Puente enticed the minor victim to perform sexual acts on herself and to send videos of her engaging in the requested sexually explicit conduct in exchange for money. The messages also show Puente sending money transfer ID numbers to the minor victim and saying he sent money to her on multiple occasions.
On January 9, 2024, the FBI executed a federal search warrant at Puente’s Clinton residence. Law enforcement seized electronic devices and other evidence from his residence pursuant to the search warrant. Forensic review of the devices uncovered visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, visit justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI – Baltimore, FBI – Santo Domingo, and Dominican National Police for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan S. McKoy and Trial Attorney Jessica L. Urban, Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, who prosecuted the case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach
