Hartford Man Charged with Child Exploitation Offenses

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, today announced that ABISAI RODRIGUEZ, 38, of Hartford, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with multiple child exploitation offenses.

As alleged in court documents, in December 2010, Rodriguez was convicted in Connecticut state court of possession of child pornography in the first degree. In November 2018, Rodriguez was convicted in Connecticut state court of illegal sexual contact with a minor and, in February 2019, was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment, suspended after five years, and 10 years of probation for the offense. He was released from state custody in January 2023. On March 23, 2026, Rodriguez was arrested by Manchester Police for failure to register as a sex offender. Following Rodriguez's arrest for this offense and for violating his state probation related to his arrest, investigators searched Rodriguez's two cellphones and his laptop computer. One of the cellphones contained approximately 211 images and 154 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children. Rodriguez was using encrypted messaging apps to trade and store the child sex abuse material.

The criminal complaint charges Rodriguez with both receipt and distribution of child pornography, offenses that each carry a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years, and with possession of child pornography, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. The penalties in this matter are enhanced because of Rodriguez's prior state convictions.

Rodriguez has been detained since his federal arrest on June 11, 2026.

U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed 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.

This investigation is being conducted by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, with the assistance of the Connecticut Court Support Services Division - Adult Probation Services, the Connecticut Computer Crimes and Electronic Evidence Laboratory, and the Farmington Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis L. Beyerlein.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit https://www.cybertipline.comLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..