“We must protect everyone, especially those who are young and vulnerable, from sex predators who think nothing of the devastating harm they inflict when they commit these crimes.  These crimes have a lasting impact on victims and their families.  We applaud the work of the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force and its law enforcement partners in holding offenders accountable and preventing further victimization.”

CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

SAN DIEGO – On August 31, 2026, Jose De Jesus Anguiano of San Diego was sentenced in federal court to 14 years in prison plus 10 years of supervised release for coercing or attempting to coerce at least four teenagers, 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. 

“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. 

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force

San Diego Police Department

Chula Vista Police Department

Federal Bureau of Investigation 

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.