Morris County Man Charged with Sexually Exploiting Minor

NEWARK, N.J. – A Morris County, New Jersey, man has been charged with producing and possessing images of child sexual abuse and enticement of a minor, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Carlos Xavier Urbina-Gutierrez, aka Luis Urbina-Gutierrez, 23, of Wharton, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with possessing and producing child pornography and enticing a minor to produce child pornography. Urbina-Gutierrez appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In 2023, Urbina-Gutierrez, posing as a student at a high school in Morris County, New Jersey. Urbina-Gutierrez used a fake online female persona on social media to communicate online with minor male victims who were students at the high school. On Dec. 25, 2023, Urbina-Gutierrez used these social media accounts to solicit one of the minor victims to engage in sexually explicit behavior while participating in a video call. Urbina-Gutierrez then surreptitiously recorded the video call and saved it to his phone. A forensic search of Urbina-Gutierrez’s cell phone revealed an approximately one-minute video of the video call with the victim. 

The charge of production of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. The charge of enticement of a minor carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison. The charge of possession of child pornography carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Each charge also includes a maximum fine of $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and members of the Child Exploitation Group of the Newark Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas; the Borough of Wharton Police Department, under the direction of Chief Dave Young; and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, with the investigation leading to the charges and arrest.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Hardin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.