HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Jordan Jysae Pulido (26, Trinity) with enticement and coercion of a minor traveling out of the country to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and transporting a minor into the country to engage in sexual activity. Pulido and his father, Roberto Santana Jimenez (61, Trinity) have also been charged with conspiracy to transport a minor into the country to engage in sexual activity. If convicted on all counts, Pulido and Jimenez face a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Pulido and Jimenez that the United States intends to forfeit electronic devices, which are alleged to have been used in the commission of the offense.
According to the indictment, for nearly a year, Pulido used the internet to entice and coerce a minor victim, under the age of 16, to engage in sexual activity with him. In June 2018, Pulido traveled from Florida to Croatia for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with the victim. In the month that followed, Pulido and his father, Jimenez, conspired to transport the victim from Croatia to Florida, again so that Pulido could engage in sexual activity with the victim. In July 2018, Pulido transported the victim from Croatia to Florida for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, the Koprivnica-Križevac County Police Administration of the Republic of Croatia Ministry of the Interior Criminal Police, and the International Police Organization. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided investigative assistance. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, 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 (CEOS), 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 Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.gov.