Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Attempting to Pay Teenage Girls for Sex

SAN DIEGO - Jose De Jesus Anguiano of San Diego was sentenced in federal court today to 168 months in prison plus 10 years of supervised release for coercing or attempting to coerce at least four children, ages 13 to 17, to engage in sexual activity in exchange for money, marijuana, or alcohol.

Anguiano pleaded guilty on February 24, 2026, to one count of Coercion and Enticement of a Minor. According to his plea agreement, Anguiano also admitted similar conduct with three other minors, including that from at least April 28, 2022, through August 29, 2024, he repeatedly solicited minors for sex and on at least one occasion raped a 14-year-old girl after agreeing to meet with her to provide her with marijuana.

As a part of his scheme, Anguiano would insert himself into the youth population through social media, offering to be underage girls' hookup for "weed," "booze" and money.

Anguiano's conduct came to the attention of the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force when, on August 29, 2024, he himself brazenly called the police. Anguiano had arranged to meet with a minor for sex in an alley. When Anguiano arrived, the minor's trafficker held Anguiano up at gun point in an attempted carjacking. Anguiano then dialed 911 for help from the San Diego Police Department. When officers arrived on scene, they quickly put together the facts and called in the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force.

"There's an irony in a child predator calling the cops on another criminal," said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon, "But more important is the justice this sentence serves. It's a clear reminder to predators that the law is not your shield or your weapon. The law belongs to the victims."

"This sentence proves that combating the trafficking and exploitation of children remains an utmost priority for my team and me at the California Department of Justice," said Attorney Rob General Bonta. "Crimes against children will never be tolerated in California, and I remain dedicated to holding perpetrators of child exploitation accountable. I am grateful for the hard work of my team in the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force that made securing this prison sentence possible."

In the government's sentencing memo, prosecutors noted that Anguiano "had become so brazen in his criminal acts that he had no hesitation of harassing children into having sex with him, over several years, attempting to recruit friends or siblings, photographing one victim behind a police car, and calling the police on another victim whose trafficker car-jacked him when he arrived in an alley to pay for sex with the minor."

The mother of one of the victims submitted a statement to the court explaining that, "Sexual assault does not simply end when the assault is over. The effects can continue long after the physical event has ended. It can affect a survivor's ability to trust, their sense of safety, their relationships, their emotional well-being, and the way they see themselves and the world around them."

At the end of her statement, the mother wrote that Anguiano "did not get to take away my daughter's future. You hurt her. You violated her trust. You changed her. You changed me. You changed our family. You forced us to make decisions we never should have had to make…. But you did not take away her ability to heal…. [She] is still here. She is loved. She is supported. She is healing."

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lyndzie M. Carter and Derek Ko.

If you believe you or someone you know has been a victim of human trafficking, investigators ask that you contact the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733.

DEFENDANT Case Number 25cr01293-BJC

Jose De Jesus Anguiano

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Coercion and Enticement of a Minor, 18 U.S.C., Section 2422

Maximum penalty: Life imprisonment with a 10-year mandatory minimum; $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force

San Diego Police Department

Homeland Security Investigations

The San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force is a cooperative effort involving the California Department of Justice, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, California Highway Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, National City Police Department, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, San Diego City Attorney's Office, San Diego County District Attorney's Office, San Diego County Probation Department, San Diego County Sheriff's Department, San Diego Police Department, Southwest Border High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California.

This case is the result of the ongoing efforts of the Special Victims Unit. Formed in April 2025, the SVU is tasked with leading collaborations between federal and local law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of cases involving sex trafficking and child exploitation, civil rights, and labor trafficking. The SVU oversees the Southern District of California liaisons to the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force and Project Safe Childhood