FBI Arrests Two Men on Child Exploitation Charges
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico / Tuesday, April 14, 2026 – Today, FBI special agents arrested two men on criminal charges related to child exploitation conduct.
A federal grand jury indicted Elid Jesuel Pizarro-Morales on April 9, 2026, with six counts of sexual exploitation of children, receipt of child exploitation material, and possession of child exploitation material. According to court documents, Pizarro-Morales, 22, from Carolina, created and used an internet based social application account to communicate with male minors and solicited the male minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct to obtain sexually explicit images and videos.
In November 2025, the defendant induced, enticed and coerced four male minors, two 14 year old minors, a 12 year old minor, and a 13 year old minor, to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce child pornography. From August 2023 through February 2026, Pizarro-Morales knowingly possessed, and accessed with intent to view material containing images of child pornography, including child pornography of a prepubescent minor or a minor who had not attained 12 years of age, using an Apple iPad.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
In a separate case, Miguel Ángel Marquez-Rosario, a 43 year old man from San Juan, was arrested today by FBI agents for child exploitation. On April 9, 2026, a federal grand jury indicted Marquez-Rosario with two counts of transportation of child exploitation material and possession of child exploitation material.
According to the indictment, from February 2026 through March 2026, the defendant knowingly used electronic devices for possession and access with intent to view images of child exploitation material, including of a prepubescent minor or a minor who had not attained 12 years of age.
If convicted, Marquez-Rosario faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
“There’s no greater priority than safeguarding our children from those who seek to exploit or harm them,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to continuing our joint efforts with our state, local, and federal partners to locate these offenders and ensure that they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Crimes against children are among the most serious violations we investigate,” said Carlos R. Goris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s San Juan Field Office. “The consumption of child sexual abuse material feeds a despicable industry that exploits innocent children. Every child deserves safety, and we won’t rest until every offender faces the full weight of federal law.”
The FBI is investigating the cases.
AUSA Emelina M. Agrait-Barreto of the Child Exploitation and Immigration Unit is prosecuting both cases.
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.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Puerto Rico
