Pawtucket Man Admits to Foreign Travel to Engage in Sex with a Minor, Transferring Obscene Material, Receiving Child Pornography
PROVIDENCE – A Pawtucket man appeared in U.S. District Court in Providence today and admitted to a judge that he traveled to Canada in April 2019, to engage in illicit sexual activity with a 13-year-old female he befriended on social media.
Herbert J. Rodas, 23, also admitted that he sent the girl obscene photographs of himself and that he successfully encouraged her to send him sexually explicit photographs of herself.
Appearing before U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy, Rodas pleaded guilty to engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in foreign places, transferring obscene material to a minor, and receipt of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman, Homeland Security Investigations Acting Special Agent in Charge Jason Molina, and Rhode Island State Police Superintendent Colonel James M. Manni.
In June 2019, the Winnipeg Police Service contacted the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Providence to report the sexual assault of a 13-year-old female. Winnipeg Police developed information that Rodas had travelled from the United States to Canada to engage in sexual activity with the minor victim with whom he had been communicating online since January 2019.
Today, Rodas admitted to the court that on April 25, 2019, he flew to Canada, rented a hotel room in his name for which he paid cash, and over the next three days he met with the victim on several occasions to engage in illicit sexual activity.
On July 11, 2019, ICAC Task Force members and HSI agents arrested Rodas. A court-authorized search of Rodas’ Pawtucket residence that day resulted in the seizure of Rodas’ passport, an airline boarding pass from Toronto to Boston for Rodas’ return trip from Canada in April 2019, a Super 8 Motel receipt, and several electronic devices.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 25, 2020.
Engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in foreign places is punishable by up to 30 years imprisonment and lifetime supervised release. Transferring obscene material to a minor is punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment and 5 years’ supervised release. Receipt of child pornography is punishable by a term of incarceration of 5-30 years, to be followed by lifetime supervised release.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John P. McAdams.
United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman thanks the Winnipeg Police Service for their assistance in the investigation of this matter.
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Department of Justice
Office of the U.S. Attorney
District of Rhode Island
Source: Justice.gov