GREENBELT, Md. – A 47-year-old Clinton resident pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to producing and possessing child sexual abuse material involving a minor in the Dominican Republic, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced.
Juan Carlos Puente entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in the Greenbelt federal courthouse. The charges stem from online communications that took place between October 1, 2021, and April 22, 2022.
According to the plea agreement, Puente used Facebook Messenger to contact the minor victim and persuaded her to perform sexually explicit acts on herself while recording videos. In exchange, Puente sent money to the victim on multiple occasions and provided transfer identification numbers through the messaging platform.
Federal agents executed a search warrant at Puente’s Clinton home on January 9, 2024. During the search, the FBI seized several electronic devices. Forensic examination later revealed images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct stored on the equipment.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Puente will be required to register as a sex offender wherever he lives, works, or attends school, in accordance with the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
Puente faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a maximum of 50 years. Judge Xinis scheduled sentencing for January 26 at 10 a.m. in Greenbelt.
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes and FBI Baltimore Field Office Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul announced the guilty plea. Hayes commended the FBI for leading the investigation and thanked the Prince George’s County Police Department for assistance provided during the case.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan S. McKoy of the District of Maryland and Trial Attorney Jessica L. Urban of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
Child sexual abuse material cases in Maryland are prosecuted in the federal system when they involve interstate or international communications or the use of the internet, which falls under federal jurisdiction. Production of such material carries some of the most severe penalties in the federal sentencing guidelines because of mandatory minimum terms established by Congress in the PROTECT Act of 2003 and subsequent legislation.
Sentencing in federal child pornography production cases typically involves a presentence investigation report prepared by U.S. Probation officers that examines the defendant’s history, the nature of the offense, and any victim impact statements. Judges then apply the federal sentencing guidelines alongside the statutory mandatory minimum.
