Man In West Haven Pleads Guilty To Child Exploitation Offenses: Feds

A man who was illegally living in the U.S. left the state with a 14-year-old girl and engaged in sexual contact with the victim.: Officials

By Vincent Salzo, Patch Staff

Sep 1, 2026 2:08 PM EDT

WEST HAVEN, CT — Jose Israel Tenesaca Mejia, a 22-year-old Ecuadorian citizen who officials said was illegally present in the U.S. and last lived in West Haven, pleaded guilty Monday in Hartford federal court to child exploitation offenses, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut David X. Sullivan announced.

Prosecutors said that the Stamford Police Department secured an arrest warrant on April 29, 2025, charging Tenesaca Mejia with felony risk of injury and interfering with an officer.

Tenesaca Mejia subsequently fled Connecticut with a 14-year-old girl, authorities said.

On Oct. 28, 2025, the FBI in New Haven contacted the FBI in Minneapolis and relayed information about Tenesaca Mejia's active arrest warrant, and that "his iPhone had been tracked to a specific location in Minneapolis," according to a news release.

"Investigators surveilled the vicinity of the location, identified both Tenesaca Mejia and the minor victim, and arrested Tenesaca Mejia," officials wrote in the news release. "Analysis of Tenesaca Mejia's iPhone revealed videos and images of Tenesaca Mejia engaged in sexual conduct with the minor victim. Investigators also identified numerous images and videos of suspected child pornography that Tenesaca Mejia had downloaded using the Telegram app."

Tenesaca Mejia pleaded guilty to production of child pornography, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of 15 years in prison and a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years, and to possession of child pornography, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, according to officials.

Tenesaca Mejia has been detained since his arrest. A sentencing date has not been scheduled, officials said.

The prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit here.

To report cases of child exploitation, visit here.