Brevard County Man Pleads Guilty To Producing Child Pornography

Orlando, Florida – Roberto Oquendo (37, Brevard County) today pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, and up to 30 years, in federal prison on each count.

According to the plea agreement, on September 15, 2016, in Melbourne, Oquendo was the subject of a traffic stop. During the traffic stop, deputies from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office received a tip that Oquendo possibly had child pornography in his possession. As a result, task force agents with the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations interviewed Oquendo. During the interview, Oquendo admitted that, for several years, he had used a cellphone to search for and view child pornography. Oquendo also disclosed that while residing in Brevard County, he had used a cellphone to take explicit photos of two female children in his custody.

Further investigation led to the seizure of several items of computer media from a place in Brevard County where Oquendo had resided. The computer media contained thousands of images and videos of the two young girls, who were toddlers at the time, as well as other children, engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Oquendo’s collection of child pornography contained depictions of infants, toddlers, and young children engaged in sexual activity, including sadistic conduct.

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.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilianys Rivera Miranda.