63-Year-Old Caguas Man Arrested for Child Exploitation

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Israel Arroyo-Chiqués, a 63-year-old from Caguas, Puerto Rico, was arrested on criminal charges for child exploitation, announced Héctor Ramírez-Carbó, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. Special Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Arroyo-Chiqués today.

On July 1, 2026, a federal grand jury indicted Arroyo-Chiqués on charges involving the coercion and enticement of a minor, receipt and distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. 

According to court documents, from or about December 2025, to April 2026, Arroyo-Chiqués used a cellphone, online instant messaging services, and social media to knowingly persuade, induce, entice, and coerce a 14-year-old male minor to engage in sexual activity. From January to March 2026, the defendant received and distributed images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct via instant messaging applications using his cellular telephone and other electronic devices.  Defendant also possessed and accessed with intent to view child pornography.

Acting U.S. Attorney Héctor Ramírez-Carbó of the District of Puerto Rico; and HSI San Juan Acting Special Agent in Charge Yariel Ramos made the announcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daynelle Álvarez-Lora of the Crimes Against Children, Human Trafficking and Immigration Unit, is prosecuting the case. The Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force led by HSI is in charge of the investigation.

If convicted for the charges the defendant faces the following penalties: (1) coercion and enticement of a minor - a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years up to life in prison; (2) receipt and distribution of child exploitation material – 5 to 20 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. 

For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from sexual predators, visit Know2Protect.gov. To report suspicious activities, call 787-729-6969 or send an email to IntelHSISanJuan@hsi.dhs.gov.

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.

###