Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Exploiting Teenager

Baltimore, Maryland - A Maryland man pled guilty in federal court, today, to child sex abuse crimes.

Gleybar Josue Ramirez-Clemente, 21, of Frederick, pled guilty to sexual exploitation of a child. Ramirez-Clemente pretended he was a minor while engaging with the minor victim on a social media platform and then eventually sexually exploited the child.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, FBI Baltimore Field Office, Chief Kevin Meyer, Frederick Police Department (FPD), and J. Charles Smith III, State's Attorney for Frederick County.

According to the guilty plea, in July 2025, Ramirez-Clemente began sexually exploiting a minor victim, who was 15 and 16 years old at the time of the abuse, using his Instagram social media account. Ramirez-Clemente used a fake persona, "Jefe," to contact the minor victim and told her he was 16.

After several weeks of communicating, the minor victim was unaware that she was actually engaging with Ramirez-Clemente. Ramirez-Clemente eventually asked the minor victim for sexually explicit images of herself. After the minor victim sent Ramirez-Clemente the sexually explicit images, he then coerced and enticed her to send additional images. Then "Jefe" threatened to expose the minor victim's actions to others, including members of their community, if she did not comply.

Ramirez-Clemente continued to use his fake persona, "Jefe," to threaten the minor victim, coercing her to engage in sex acts while he recorded the abuse.

This case is 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 the United States Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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 justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.

If convicted, Ramirez-Clemente faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child.

Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI, FPD, and State's Attorney's Office for Frederick County for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Elizabeth McGuinn who is prosecuting the federal case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md.

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