TRINITY, Fla. (WFLA) — A father and son living in Trinity were sentenced Friday to federal prison for tricking a Croatian teenager into coming to Florida in order to have sex with her.
The U.S. Department of Justice Jordan Jysae Pulido, 27, and his father, 62-year-old Roberto Santana Jimenez, were found guilty on Oct. 28, 2021, for enticement and coercion of minor, guilty of conspiracy to transport a minor into the country to engage in sexual activity., traveling out of the country to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and transporting a minor into the country to engage in sexual activity.
According to the DOJ, Pulido met the then-14-year-old victim online through social media in 2017.
At first, Pulido provided the child guitar lessons online, but after several months, Pulido started to pursue the child on the pretense of a relationship.
The report from the DOJ said Pulido and Jimenez spent a year communicating while planning for Pulido to go to Croatia. During this time, Pulido would get advice on how to convince the girl to have sex from his father, who even posed as a doctor to tell her about precautions concerning pregnancy.
On June 14, 2018, Pulido went Croatia, proposed to the child on her 15th birthday, and had sex with her, according to the DOJ. On July 23, 2018, Pulido and his father took the child from Croatia to Florida “for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity.”
Once the minor arrived in Florida, Jimenez took her passport and documentation, keeping her from returning to her family in Croatia.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents rescued the child nearly a month later after an agent conducting a welfare check was able to investigate the matter further..
“Picking up on subtle signs, our agent knew something wasn’t right, and, by quickly gaining the victim’s trust, he was able to rescue this child from sexual abuse,” FDLE Tampa Special Agent in Charge Mark Brutnell said.
A U.S. district judge sentenced Jimenez to 20 years in federal prison. The judge also sentenced Pulido to 10 years in federal prison.
“A child victim was rescued from these predators, and we hope this sentencing provides some closure on the path to recovery for them,” said Timothy Westlove, HSI Tampa acting assistant special agent in charge.
