ALEXIS DAVID RIVERA-CASTILLO will spend the next 15 years behind bars for attempting to pay for sex with a 10-year-old girl he believed would be waiting for him at a Puerto Rico motel. The 15-year federal prison sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Francisco A. Besosa, includes an additional 10 years of supervised release—marking a grim end to a predatory scheme that began with a dating app.
Rivera-Castillo, from Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty on February 11, 2019, after a federal investigation revealed he initiated contact with an adult woman through a social networking and dating website in June 2018. During their conversations, the woman disclosed she had two children—ages 10 and 13. Rivera-Castillo didn’t hesitate: he asked to see the 10-year-old in her underwear and proposed a sexual encounter involving both the minor and the adult at a motel, offering money and a car in exchange.
The woman alerted the FBI. Agents stepped in, with an undercover agent posing as the mother. Communications escalated quickly. Rivera-Castillo confirmed plans to meet at a motel on July 23, 2018, expecting to exploit a child. Instead, he was met by federal agents and arrested on the spot. No minor was ever in danger—the operation was a trap built to catch predators in the act.
U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez made it clear: “Justice was done. This sentence should serve to reassure the public that we are paying close attention to the well-being of our children, and that we will spare no expense to take child predators off the streets.” Her words echo a broader federal push under Project Safe Childhood, a DOJ initiative targeting online child exploitation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elba Gorbea, with the FBI leading the investigation in coordination with the Puerto Rico Police Department. Rivera-Castillo’s digital trail—messages, offers, and confirmed meetups—provided irrefutable evidence of intent. He never claimed ignorance; his guilty plea laid bare the cold calculation behind his actions.
Now, Rivera-Castillo faces 15 years in federal prison, followed by a decade of supervised release—where any misstep could land him back behind bars. His name joins the ledger of predators crushed by federal force. For the children he targeted in fantasy, justice arrived before harm could. For others still lurking in the dark corners of the web: the net is tightening.
Related Federal Cases
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- William Javier Vega-Valentín, Carlos Borrero-Vélez Arrested in Ponce Child Exploitation Case · Puerto Rico
- CBP Officer Alfredo Maysonet-Galarza Indicted for Child Pornography · Puerto Rico
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Key Facts
- State: Puerto Rico
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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