Vieques Man Indicted and Arrested for Child Exploitation

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging José Amaurys Torres-Abreu, 28, of Vieques, PR, for child exploitation.

According to court documents, in or about November 2025, José Amaurys Torres-Abreu transported a 14-year-old female minor with intent that the victim engage in sexual activity.  The defendant knowingly persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced the 14-year-old female minor, to engage in sexual activity, for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense.

Torres-Abreu is facing one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and one count of coercion and enticement of a minor.

The defendant had his initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Giselle López-Soler of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. If convicted for the charges of coercion and enticement and transportation of minor to engage in illicit sexual conduct, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years up to life. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

“There are no cases more important for the Department of Justice and the Puerto Rico U.S. Attorney’s Office than crimes against children. Those who prey on our children will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “We commend the work of the federal and state law enforcement authorities whose thorough work led to these federal charges being filed today.”

“The sexual exploitation of a minor is a serious federal crime that carries significant consequences. There is no gray area and no island too remote when it comes to conduct that violates the law and harms children,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBIs San Juan Field Office, Claudia Dubravetz. “The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate these offenses and work with our partners to ensure those responsible are identified, charged, and held accountable.”

The FBI is investigating the case with the collaboration of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau.

Assistant US Attorney (AUSA) Elba Gorbea of 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.

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