PUERTO RICO
Imperial Valley News
San Juan, Puerto Rican – A former pastor and two other men received a collective sentence of 68 years Wednesday for transporting minors with the intent to engage them in criminal sexual conduct. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), working jointly with the Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force (PRCACTF), conducted the investigation.
Nelson Santiago-Colon, 49, former pastor of the Peniel Christian Church located in Santa Isabel, was sentenced to 40 years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release. HSI special agents arrested him February 2013 in Ponce. According to the three-count complaint, Santiago-Colon transported a 14-year-old boy and a 12-year-old boy from the Peniel Christian Church to his home for the purpose of committing sexual assault and lewd acts with the minors. Count three charges him with transporting a 14-year-old minor from the minor’s home to his home with the intent to perform lewd acts on the minor.
Hilton Rios-Rivera, 51, of San Sebastian, was sentenced to 18 years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for transporting a female minor to several motels with the intent that she engage in criminal sexual conduct. After receiving substantial assistance from local authorities, including the Puerto Rico Police Department’s Sexual Crimes Division and the Puerto Rico Department of Justice, HSI special agents arrested Hilton Rios-Rivera, aka Pochy, for having transported a 14-year-old minor on approximately three different occasions to motels in Aguada and Añasco in order to engage in sexually explicit conduct with her.
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