29-Year-Old Man Arrested for Child Exploitation

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On November 12, 2026, FBI special agents arrested Jonathan David Mercado Valladares, 29-year-old man from Ponce, on criminal charges related to child exploitation, announced Héctor Ramírez Carbó, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

According to court documents, from in or about February 2023, to in or about February 2026, Mercado Valladares took pictures of minors, including prepubescent minors, and produced images depicting those minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct using applications within his cellular device. Moreover, from March to July 2026, Mercado Valladares, using his cellular phones and other electronic devices, which had internet capabilities, possessed images and videos of child pornography including images of prepubescent minors or minors who had not attained 12 years of age. 

“The allegations in this case involve the sexual exploitation of children, conduct that inflicts profound and lasting harm on its victims. Protecting children is one of the highest priorities of the Department of Justice, and we will continue working closely with our law enforcement partners to identify offenders, rescue victims, and seek accountability under federal law,” said Héctor Ramírez Carbó, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “We commend the FBI for its diligent and steadfast investigative work and support in this matter.”

“The exploitation of children will not be tolerated. Criminals who use emerging technologies to victimize minors are not beyond the reach of law enforcement. The FBI will continue to pursue those who target the most vulnerable and hold them accountable. If you exploit minors, this is a message for you: expect to be identified, arrested, and prosecuted. Justice will find you,” said Carlos R. Goris, FBI San Juan Special Agent in Charge.

If convicted for the charges the defendant faces the following penalties: (1) transportation of child pornography – five to 20 years in prison; (2) production of obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children – 15 to 30 years in prison; and (3) possession of child pornography – a maximum of 20 years of imprisonment.  All charges of conviction are to be followed by a term of supervised release after the term of imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

The FBI is investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daynelle Álvarez Lora from the Child Exploitation and Immigration Unit, is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

###