Gilberto “Tito” E. Raffols-Cuevas, 33, of Rio Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States is accused of knowingly persuading, inducing, enticing and coercing a girl, 10, to engage in sexual activity from April 1-28, 2022. He allegedly had explicit conversations with her and requested naked pictures from her. 

After the girl sent pictures to Raffols-Cuevas, he demanded more sexually explicit pictures but she did not comply. He threatened that he would upload her photos to his Instagram accounts and share them with many people.

Raffols-Cuevas also sent photos of his penis to the girl and sent pornographic material to another female minor. The case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with the help of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB).

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U.S. Magistrate Judge Marshal D. Morgan authorized a criminal complaint against Raffols-Cuevas with production of child exploitation material, coercion and enticement of a minor, possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography. He was arrested without incident at his residence in Rio Piedras.

On May 13, 2022, Raffols-Cuevas had his initial hearing before Morgan. Afterwards, the Rio Piedras resident was transferred to the Guaynabo Metropolitan Detention Center in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico where he will wait for the outcome of his case.

If convicted, Raffols-Cuevas faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years up to 30 years in prison for the production of child exploitation material and a mandatory minimum of 10 years up to life. This will be followed by a supervised release term up to life.

Founded in 1714 as El Roble, Rio Piedras was given municipality rights in 1823. It merged with San Juan on July 1, 1951.

Rio Piedras is home to Heladería Georgetti, an iconic ice-cream shop, and El Churro Bar, a popular Mexican taqueria and bar. The district is also the site of the main campus of the University of Puerto Rico.