A Windsor resident, Christopher Rodriguez, 31, was arrested on federal charges for allegedly enticing minors to engage in sexual activity online. The arrest was announced by David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and P.J. O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the FBI.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Rodriguez used social media applications LiveIn and Discord in October and November 2023 to communicate with an 11-year-old girl from Florida. He is accused of coercing her into sending him a sexually explicit video. In a separate incident during November and December 2023, Rodriguez allegedly posed as a teenager while communicating with a 13-year-old girl from Pennsylvania using Discord and iMessage. Authorities allege he engaged in sexually explicit conversations with her, coerced her into sending explicit images and videos of herself, and sent her sexually explicit images he claimed were of himself.
Rodriguez faces charges of coercion and enticement of a minor. This offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison and could result in up to life imprisonment if convicted.
He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert A. Richardson in Hartford and was ordered detained pending further proceedings.
U.S. Attorney Sullivan emphasized: “a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The investigation is being led by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force with support from federal, state, local law enforcement agencies, including assistance from the Connecticut State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis L. Beyerlein is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution falls under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation (https://www.justice.gov/psc).
Individuals can report cases involving child exploitation at https://www.cybertipline.com.
