Long Island Pastor Sentenced To 17.5 Years After Sexual Exploitation Of Children: Feds

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — A Long Island pastor was sentenced Tuesday to 17.5 years in federal prison after sexually exploiting children, including coercing minors online into sending him sexually explicit images and videos — and abusing one child in person, federal prosecutors said.

Jose Saez Jr., 30, of Brentwood, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joan Azrack in federal court in Central Islip to 210 months in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Saez was a pastor at Iglesia Cristiana Alumbrando El Camino church in Brentwood, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty in March 2025 to sexual exploitation of a child, officials said.

Federal prosecutors said Saez communicated with minor victims over the internet, coerced them into creating and sending sexually explicit images and videos of themselves, and coerced one minor into engaging in sexual acts with him at a public park on Long Island.

According to court filings and information established at Saez’s plea and sentencing proceedings, Saez used an encrypted messaging service to engage in sexually explicit conversations with minors and with a law enforcement officer acting in an undercover capacity.

In August 2023, Saez had online conversations with the undercover officer, prosecutors said. During those conversations, Saez stated that he had sexually abused an infant, described his “sweet spot” as molesting children between the ages of 11 and 15, and said he was able to find younger victims at “church,” according to prosecutors.

Federal agents later recovered numerous images and videos of child sexual abuse material from Saez after a court-authorized search, prosecutors said. Some of the material had been solicited from minors, and Saez admitted to law enforcement that he encouraged at least one minor to produce child sexual abuse material and send it to him, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said Saez also distributed child sexual abuse material.

In addition to the online exploitation, prosecutors said Saez raped a minor in May 2023 after telling the child to meet him in a public restroom in Mount Sinai.

“Jose Saez abused his position as a pastor by coercing innocent children to send sexually explicit images and even forcing one minor to engage in sexual acts in a public space,” said James Barnacle Jr., assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office. "The pain he inflicted on the children who trusted him is indefensible, and the FBI, with its partners, brought this individual to justice. The men and women of the FBI's Long Island Child Exploitation Task Force will never relent in their efforts to seek justice for victims and protect our communities' children.”

The prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative brings together federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute people who exploit children online and to identify and rescue victims.

“Today’s lengthy sentence holds the defendant accountable for his exploitation of children and his abuse of a position of trust,” United States Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said. “As a pastor, the defendant occupied a role that carries with it a profound responsibility to protect and guide others, particularly the most vulnerable. Instead, he used that position to harm children. Protecting our community from predators like the defendant will always be a priority of our office.”

Anyone with information about sexual exploitation by Saez is asked to contact the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 212-384-1000.