Guatemalan National Sentenced to Over Eight Years for Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material and Illegal Reentry into the United States

Ocala, Florida - Marlon Jefferson Fajardo-Paiz (22, Guatemala) has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber to eight years and one month in federal prison for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and illegal reentry by a previously deported alien. Fajardo-Paiz pleaded guilty pleas on November 13, 2025. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

According to court documents, Fajardo-Paiz is a citizen and national of Guatemala. He was previously removed from the United States on July 20, 2018, and has never received permission from the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security to apply for readmission to the United States. On April 24, 2025, the Marion County Sheriff's Office interviewed Fajardo-Paiz during an investigation of a Cybertip relating to an upload of CSAM to the internet. Fajardo-Paiz told investigators that he had participated in viewing, downloading, and transmitting CSAM. A subsequent search of Fajardo-Paiz's cellphone revealed at least 20 items of CSAM in his possession.

This case was investigated by the Marion County Sheriff's Office and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.