Juan Tiul Xi, Child Trafficking, Ohio 2025

A Guatemalan national, Juan Tiul Xi, unlawfully residing in the United States and previously convicted of sexual battery, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Cleveland, Ohio, to encouraging and inducing an unaccompanied alien child to illegally enter the United States and to submitting a sponsorship application with false statements to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to gain custody of the UAC.

The defendant, 26-year-old Juan Tiul Xi, helped a 14-year-old female Guatemalan UAC enter the United States illegally with the permission of her family. He instructed the UAC to use the name and birth certificate of Tiul Xi’s minor sister to enter the United States so that Tiul Xi could falsely state in his UAC sponsorship application that he was the UAC’s brother. Tiul Xi then made these false representations in an application that he signed under the penalty of perjury.

ORR relied on Tiul Xi’s misrepresentations, approved his application to sponsor the UAC, and released the UAC to Tiul Xi’s care in September 2023. Tiul Xi was subsequently indicted on April 17, 2025, and pleaded guilty today to all counts: one count of encouraging or inducing illegal entry for the purpose of financial gain; one count of making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement; and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Tiul Xi faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison on the illegal-entry count, up to five years in prison on the false-statement count, and a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence on the aggravated-identity-theft count. This brings the total possible prison time to 17 years. Tiul Xi’s sentencing is scheduled to take place on March 19, 2026.

The investigation and indictment were coordinated and prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the Department’s lead effort in combating high-impact human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). A highly successful partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), JTFA investigates and prosecutes human smuggling and trafficking and related immigration crimes that impact public safety and border security.

U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio stated, “Mr. Tiul Xi engaged in layers of deception. Committing one federal crime after another, he showed no regard or respect for this girl’s human dignity.” Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division added, “Through Joint Task Force Alpha, the Justice Department is fully committed to prosecuting those who take advantage of children and lie to undermine the integrity of government programs. We will strive to end the exploitation of these children and stop the manipulation of government programs by fraudsters, smugglers, and others engaged in serious criminal conduct.”

The case is a reminder of the importance of protecting vulnerable children and holding accountable those who would seek to exploit them for financial gain. The Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and provide updates on the sentencing of Juan Tiul Xi.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/guatemalan-man-unlawfully-us-and-previously-convicted-sexual-battery-pleads-guilty