Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger has sentenced Juan Santiago (36, Deltona) to 57 months in federal prison for possessing child sexual abuse material. Santiago entered a guilty plea on December 19, 2024.
According to court documents, between August and December of 2022, Santiago purchased child sexual abuse material on multiple occasions from an individual that he communicated with via the messaging application Telegram. Santiago’s cell phone contained over 80 files of child sexual abuse material, including images depicting prepubescent children, toddlers, and infants.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Hu.
This case was brought as 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 United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 www.justice.gov/psc.