Clinton Man Sentenced In Child Sex Abuse, Porn Case Involving Dominican Republic Girl

CLINTON, MD — A Prince George's County man will spend close to three decades in prison after being found guilty of producing and possessing child sexual abuse material with a victim who lived in the Dominican Republic.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Juan Carlos Puente, 48, of Clinton to more than 27 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for producing and possessing child sexual abuse material. As part of his plea agreement, Puente must register as a sex offender in places where he lives, is an employee and is a student, in accordance with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

As detailed in court documents, between approximately Oct. 1, 2021, and April 22, 2022, Puente enticed a minor victim, who lived in the Dominican Republic, to engage in unlawful sexual activity and produce child pornography.

Puente enticed the minor victim to perform sexual acts on herself and to send videos of her engaging in the requested sexually explicit conduct through Facebook Messenger in exchange for money. The messages also show Puente sending money transfer ID numbers to the minor victim and saying he sent money to her on multiple occasions, court documents stated.

On Jan. 9, 2024, the FBI executed a federal search warrant at Puente’s Clinton home. Law enforcement confiscated electronic devices and other evidence from his home. Forensic review of the devices uncovered visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.