Washington, DC - A Rockville, Maryland man was sentenced Friday to 120 months in prison for sexually exploiting a minor over the internet, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia, and Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Lechleitner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. field office.
Jose Adalberto Sandoval Quinonez, 26, a laborer, previously pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga presided over the sentencing and ordered Sandoval Quinonez to serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, Sandoval Quinonez initiated contact with the 12-year-old victim over Instagram and the two later began chatting over Google Hangouts. Over the course of several months in 2017, Sandoval Quinonez groomed, persuaded, and enticed the minor to engage in sex acts, including sexual intercourse. In addition, he repeatedly asked her to produce and send him sexually explicit photos of herself, and he succeeded in persuading her to send him such a photo. Sandoval Quinonez also sent the victim an obscene image of his genitals. During these interactions, Sandoval Quinonez, who was 25 at the time, pretended to be 16 years old.
The investigation was conducted by HSI Washington, D.C. with the assistance of the Manassas Park Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kyle P. Reynolds of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.