Federal Jury Convicts Man of Exploiting Multiple Minor Victims

MIAMI – On Oct. 15, a federal jury found Rafael Antonio Saldana, 39, of Miami-Dade County, guilty of three counts of attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, attempted production of visual depictions involving sexual exploitation of minors, receipt of visual depictions involving sexual exploitation of minors, and possession of visual depictions involving sexual exploitation of minors.

In the summer of 2023, Saldana solicited sexually explicit images from three minor victims and attempted to meet in person for the purposes of engaging in sexual conduct. The three minor victims were aged 14-years-old, 16-years-old, and 17-years-old at the time of the communications. Ultimately, Saldana coordinated a time and location to meet with the 14-year-old victim at a local McDonald’s to then return to Saldana’s home to engage in sexual activity.  On July 13, Saldana arrived across the street from the McDonald’s and directed the 14-year-old victim to meet him, as planned. He was arrested that day. The investigation revealed Saldana possessed over sixty images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors.

U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian is scheduled to sentence Saldana on Jan. 7, 2025, after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office; and Director Stephanie V. Daniels of the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), made the announcement.

HSI Miami and MDPD investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Audrey Pence Tomanelli and Arielle Klepach are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about the Project Safe Childhood initiative and for information regarding Internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-mj-03384.

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