Miramar Resident Sentenced to Life in Prison for Production of Child Pornography

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, and Chief Keith F. Dunn, Miramar Police Department, announced today the sentencing of Jesus Rios, 43, formerly of Miramar, Florida. U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn sentenced Rios to life in prison on charges of production of child pornography.

According to information contained in court documents, on March 17, 2008, a report was made to the Miramar Police Department that two children were being sexually assaulted by Jesus Rios, and that the sexual abuse had been going on for years. During a search of Rios’ residence, law enforcement officers located and seized photographic images of the abuse. Rios was also found to be in possession of more than 2000 images of other children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

In May 2010, Rios was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in Broward County State Court for sexual abuse. On November 10, 2010, Rios pled guilty in federal court to four counts of production of child pornography, resulting in today’s life sentence.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe childhood was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, and is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Miramar Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Corey Steinberg and Robin Waugh-Farretta.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.