FILED BY D.C.

Ml2 2 3 2222

ANGELA E. NOBLE

CLERK U S DISI CQ UNITED STA TES DISTRICT CO URT s. o. og fl.k. - MIAMI

SO UTH ERN D ISTRICT O F FLO RIDA

Case No. 20-m i-02478-Louig

UNITED STATES O F AM ERICA

FILED UNDER SEA L

REN E PEDRO SA,

Defendant.

CRIM INM ? COM PLAINT COVER SHEET

Did this m atter originate from a matter pending in the Central Region of the United

States Attorney's Office prior to A ugust 9. 2013 (Magistrate Judge Alicia Valle)?

Yes X No

Did this m atter originate from a m atter pending in the N orthern Region of the United

States Attom ey's Office prior to August 8. 201 4 (M agistrate Judge Shaniek M aynard)?

Yes X No

Respectfully subm itted,

ARIANA FAJARDO ORSHAN

UN ITED STATES ATTORN EY

BY: vVanessa ingh Johannes

A ssistant U nited States Attorney

Court ID No. A5501644

99 N .E. 4th Street, 5th Floor

M iam i, Florida 33l 32-2 l l l

TeI: (305) 96 1-9023

Fax: (305) 536-4699

Vanessa.s.lohannes@ usdoj.gov

Case 1:20-mj-02478-LFL Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/24/2020 Page 1 of 7
AO 9 ! ( Rcv . ()%/()9j Cnmmal Complaim origi naI

UNITED STATES D ISTRICT COURT

for the

Southern District of Florida

United States of Alnerica

'V .

case No. 20-mj-02478-Louis

RENE PEDROSA

CRIM INAL COM PLAINT

1, the complainant in this case. state that the following is true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

On or about the datets) of 1 1/34.91..%- 1/28/;9:9 ...- - in the county of .- . MIAMTDAgX in the

:OUT-I:I-E-I?N- - District of Exo.qtpA.-.. . --.-- , the def-endanqs) violated:

Code s'ecftpa Offense Description

Title 18, United States Code,

Section 2251(a);

Title 18, United States Code,

Section 2252(a)(2),' and

Title 18, United States Code,

Section 2422(b).

Production of child pornography;

Receipt of child pomography; and

Coercion and Enticement of a minor to engage

in sexual activity.

This criminal complaint is based on these facts:

SEE AU ACHED AFFIDAVIT OF FBI SPECIAL AGENT DANIEL ALFIN.

@

W Continued on the attached sheet.

complainant'ik signature

Attested to by th QANI-QL ALFIN, 6BI SPECJA.L AGENX- --- e applicant in accordance with the requirements of Printedname andtide

Fed. R. Crim. P. 4.1 by W hatsApp video

Sworn to before me and signed in my presence.

Date: - . . - - ..ç)w:j.4?f)?.9-.Mpqçh 23, 2o2o

City and state: . . .... .MIAM-tz .qkqqlph ..- ...- M-A.QISTRATE JU-CQLkAUV N--;. LQQIS .-

Printed name and Iitle

Case 1:20-mj-02478-LFL Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/24/2020 Page 2 of 7
AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPO RT O F CRIM INAL CO M PLAINT

1, Daniel 1. Alfin, a Special Agent (SA) with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (I7BI)

being duly sworn, hereby depose and state as follows'.

INTRO DUCTION AND AGENT BA CKG RO UND

I have been a Special Agent w ith the FBI since April 2009. I am currently assigned

to the FBI M iam i Child Exploitation and Human Traftscking Taskforce. In this capacity. l am

responsible for conducting crim inal investigations of statutes contained in Title 18 of the United

States Code, including crimes related to child pornography and the sexual exploitation of children.

2. I have participated in investigations of persons suspected of violating federal child

pornography laws, including Title l 8, United States Code, Sections 2251 , 2252 and 2252A. These

investigations have included the use of surveillance techniques. the interviewing of subjects and

witnessess and the planning and execution of arrest, search, and seizure warrants. ln the course of

these investigations, l have reviewed thousands of still im ages and videos containing child

pornography and im ages depicting m inor children engaged in sexually explicit conduct on various

forms of electronic m edia including com puters, digital cameras, and wireless telephones, and have

discussed and reviewed these m aterials w ith other law enforcement om cers. I have also

participated in training program s for the investigation and enforcem ent of federal child

pornography Iaws relating to the use of com puters for receiving, transmitting, and storing child

pornography. I am a member of the FBI Adjunct Faculty Program and certitsed to provide

instruction to other FBI Agents and Iaw enforcem ent om cers in certain areas relating to child

exploitation investigations. l am proficient in the area of com puter forensics and trained to perform

com puter forensics for the FBI. I have been recognized as an expert in federal court in areas

rclating to computer forensics and the investigation of child exploitation crim es. l have testified in

Case 1:20-mj-02478-LFL Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/24/2020 Page 3 of 7
federal court on m ore than 20 occasions, both as an expert and a lay witness, in more than l 0

federal judicial districts.

-rhis A. ffldavit is subm itted in stlpport of a crim inal com plaint charging Rene

Pedrosa (*iPEDltOSA'') with production of child pornography, in violation of Title l 8, United

States Code, Section 225 l (a), receipt of child pornography, in violation of Title 1 8. United States

Code, Section 2252(a)(2), and coercion and enticement of a minor, in violation of Title l 8, United

States Code, Section 2422(b).

4. The information set forth in this A m davit comes from my personal involvem ent in

this investigation, as well as from infonnation provided to m e by other law enforcem ent officers

and people w ith know ledge of the case. This Am davit does not represent every fact law

enforcem ent knows about this investigation but is subm itted for the Iim ited purpose of establishing

probable cause for the issuance of the crim inal complaint against PEDROSA for the

aforem entioned crim inal violation.

PROBABLE CAUSE

by the City of M iam i Police Departm ent

(-fCM PD'*) Special Victims Unit (%$SVU'') on or abo 5 A ut February l 9. 2020. SV U personnel

provided your Affiant with background infonnation conccrning the CM PD investigation of Rene

PEDROSA ('tPEDROSA'*). According to evidence and witness statements obtained by CM PD,

This m atter was referred to the FBI

PEDROSA enticed a m inor to engage in sexual activity and produce child pornography, via the

Internet. social media applications ($*apps''), and/or text-messaging, in violation of Title I 8, United

States Code, Sections 2422(b) and 2251 (a) (respectively).

The Crim inal Conduct

On or about January I 9, 2020, the mother of then sixteen (1 6) year old (hereinafter,

Case 1:20-mj-02478-LFL Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/24/2020 Page 4 of 7
-'M inor Victim-' or 'tM V'1) Gled a report with CM PD. M V's m other advised SV U personnel that

on or about November 3. 20I 9, PED ROSA had contacted M V via Instagram refkrencing a possible

website dcsign job fbr the Mayor of the City' of M iami. At the tirne. PEDROSA was em ployed as

an aide to the City of M iam i M ayor. PEDROSA was fortpeight (48) years old. M V 's m othcr

drovc M V to a m eeting with PEDROSA on N ovem ber l 8

, 201 9, scheduled at a café in Coconut

Grovcs FL. There, MV and PEDROSA discusscd the website design job. M V 's mother was not

prescnt during the m eeting. A follow-up meeting between M V and PEDROSA was scheduled for

Novem ber 25, 20I 9.

On N ovem ber 25, 201 9, M V 's m other drove M V to the follow-up m eeting w ith

PEDROSA , which took place at the City of M iam i City Hall. M V 's m other Ieft M V at City Hall

and was not present during the meeting. On or about January 18, 2020, M V disclosed to M V 's

mother that. at the Novem ber 25, 20l 9 meeting, PEDROSA touched M V 's penis over M V 's

clothing multiple times, grabbed M V's buttocks, kissed M V , and placed M V 's hand over

PEDROSA 'S clothed erect penis. During the encounter. pcr the disclosure made by M V to M V's

mother, M V tried to pull away from PEDROSA several tim es before leaving City Hall.

8. M V further disclosed to M V's mother that, after the Novem ber 25. 20l 9 meeting,

PEDROSA sent messages to M V, via the W hatsApp text messaging service and apps requesting

pictures of M V's penis. M V advised that, in response to PEDRO SA 'S request, he took a picture

ofhis pcnis and sent it to PEDROSA.

* Search of PEDROSA'S Residcnçe & Preview of PEDROSA'S Cellular Device

On or about January 28, 2020. a State of Florida search warrant was obtained and

executed by CM PD personnel for PED ROSA 'S residence.

PEDROSA, among other items, w as seized and searched pursuant to the warrant. The cellular

A cellular telephone belonging to

Case 1:20-mj-02478-LFL Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/24/2020 Page 5 of 7
A preview ofthe data contained on PED RO SA'S cellular

telephone revealed that on or about Deccm ber 22, 2019, PED ROSA received pictures of an erect

penis consistenl w ith the ilnages that M V advised he had sent to PEDRO SA at PEDROSA 'S

request. CM PD personnel responded to M V 's residence and photographed M V's reside

nce.

CM PD personnel confirmed that the background in the aforem entioned images matched M V 's

residence.

1 0. The preview of data from PEDROSA 'S cellular telephone also revealed that

, on

telephone number is (XXX) XXX-9590.

November l 6, 20 l9, PEDROSA sent text m essages to M V stating, in part, the following: ''I'm

dying to sleep w ith you.'- -tErase this,

'' and itYou and l would have hoy (sic) foreplay.''

Additionally, on January 5, 2020, PEDROSA sent a text m essage to M V confinning that

PEDROSA knew M V w as under the age of 1 8.

The preview of data from PEDROSA 'S cellular telephone further rcvealed that

some comm unications between PEDRO SA and M V that were recovered by and visible to Iaw

enforcem ent through cellular telephone analysis sohware had been wtdeleted'' by the user of the

device, that is, PEDROSA . For example, the Novem ber I 6, 201 9 text m essage sent to M V by

PED ROSA that stated, kçl'm dying to sleep with you,'* was deleted by the user, but recovered via

celtular telephone analysis softw are.

Additional Follow-up with the M inor Victim

On M arch 3, 2020, yotlr AfNant interviewed M V. Your Affiant showed M V seven

(7) photographs that had been recovered from PEDROSA'S cellular telephone (which were

previously referenced above). MV recognized the images, confirmed that he was the individual

depicted in the im ages, and stated that he took the images and sent them to PEDRO SA at

PE DROSA 'S request. Several of the images were focused on M V's erect penis.

Case 1:20-mj-02478-LFL Document 3 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/24/2020 Page 6 of 7
* State Arrest of PEDROSA

1 3. ()n February 7, 2020, PE DRO SA was arrested by the State. He is currently charged

w ith several State child exploitation violations, and is out on bond.

CO NC LUSION

Based upon the information provided above, l respectfully submit that probable

cause exists to support arresting Rene PEDRO SA and charging him w ith the following federal

violations: production of child ponlography, in violation of Title l 8, United States Code, Section

2251 (a), receipt of child pornography, in violation of Title l 8, United States Code, Section

2252(a)(2), and coercion and enticement of a minor, in violation of Title I 8. United States Code,

Section 2422(b).

FURTHER SA YETH YOUR A FFIAN T NA UGHT.

Daniel 1. A lfin, Special A gent

Attested to by the applicant in accordance with th Federal Bureau of Investigation e

requiremjnts of Fed. R. Crim. P. 4.1 by WhatsApp video

Subscnbed and sworn to, before me,

on this 23 day of M arch 25- 2020:

HONORABLE LA UREN F. LO UIS

UN ITED STATES M AGISTRATE JUDGE

SO UTHERN DISTRICT O F FLO RIDA

5

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