A New Haven resident, Marcos Alex Mendez Torres, was charged on April 1 with several federal child exploitation offenses, according to a statement from 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Authorities said Mendez Torres, age 26, allegedly used online platforms including Roblox, Discord, and Snapchat to communicate with minors in Pennsylvania and Ohio between 2022 and 2024. According to court documents cited by prosecutors, he began talking with an approximately 11-year-old girl in Pennsylvania via Roblox in 2022 and later communicated through other social media apps. He also contacted another girl in Ohio starting when she was about 12 years old.
The criminal complaint alleges that in March 2024 Mendez Torres traveled to Pennsylvania to meet a then-13-year-old girl for sexual activity before returning briefly to Connecticut and continuing on to Ohio intending similar conduct with the second minor. The charges include coercion and enticement of a minor—which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years imprisonment—traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct (up to thirty years), and transfer of obscene materials to a minor (up to ten years).
Mendez Torres has been detained since June 26 after his arrest by Connecticut State Police on related state charges involving a third victim—a fifteen-year-old girl—and was subsequently transferred into federal custody where he appeared before Hartford federal court.
Sullivan said investigators are seeking additional victims or witnesses who may have information relevant to the case. “U.S. Attorney Sullivan noted that investigators are seeking to identify additional victims and encouraged victims, witnesses, and anyone with helpful information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or contact the FBI online at tips.fbi.gov.” He also reminded the public that “a criminal 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 along with assistance from Connecticut State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis L. Beyerlein is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood Initiative.