Grand jury hands down indictment of pair for child sex trafficking

U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico W. Stephen Muldrow

By The Star Staff

A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico on Monday indicted Juan Carlos Peña Luguera, 39, and Joshua Jandel Pérez Lebrón, 20, for coercion and sexual trafficking of minors, as well as receipt of child pornography.

The FBI is in charge of the investigation and is requesting information from the public about the two individuals.

“Those who engage in child exploitation, including the sex trafficking of minors and the possession of child sexual abuse material, will be held accountable for their criminal conduct,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, the United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, in a written statement.

According to court documents, between July and December 2023, the defendants allegedly recruited, enticed, harbored, and solicited a minor between the ages of 16 and 17 to engage in commercial sex acts.

They used cell phones and instant messaging services to persuade and coerce the minor to engage in sexual activity. They are also accused of receiving child exploitation material through an instant messaging application.

Joseph González, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Juan Field Office, emphasized that “child sex trafficking will continue to be a priority for our office.”

“We want victims and their families to know that the FBI is here for them and that we will aggressively pursue these cases,” he said.

If convicted, the defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years to life in prison on the coercion and sex trafficking of minors charges, and five to 20 years in prison on the receipt of child pornography charges, followed by a period of supervised release of five years to life.

The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the federal Department of Justice.