Former English Tutor Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of Children in China and the United States

WASHINGTON—Hector Orjuela Jr., 47, admitted today to molesting children under the age of 12 and producing child pornography, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director in Charge Valerie Parlave of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Gregory B. Starr of the Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

Orjuela pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle in the District of Columbia to two counts of engaging in and attempting to engage in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place and one count of producing child pornography.

According to court documents, Orjuela is a U.S. citizen who worked as an English teacher and tutor in Shanghai, China. In July 2012, Orjuela traveled to Maryland and molested a female minor under the age of 12 and produced child pornography of the molestation. Thereafter, in August 2012, Orjuela traveled to China and molested one minor female and attempted to molest another under the age of 12 who were residing in China at that time. Orjuela traveled back to the United States in early November 2012 and then returned to China later that month, where he continued to molest the same two female minors.

Orjuela faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for the count of production of child pornography and a maximum penalty of 30 years for each count of traveling in foreign commerce and engaging in and attempting to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorney’s 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.justice.gov/psc.

This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Sarah Chang and Mi Yung Park of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of Columbia and the District of Maryland. This case is a result of investigative efforts led by the FBI Washington Field Office; FBI Beijing Legat Office; U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s Regional Security Office in Shanghai; Shanghai Public Security Bureau’s International Cooperation Division; Shanghai Criminal Investigation Division; and Shanghai Exit and Entry Bureau.