A United States District Judge sentenced Christian Hernandez, 27, of New Port Richey, Florida, to 24 years and 6 months in federal prison for transporting a minor with the intent to engage in sexual activity. Hernandez will serve a lifetime supervised release sentence and must register as a sex offender after his release. Hernandez pleaded guilty to the charge on July 1, 2025.
Judge Mary S. Scriven imposed the sentence based on court documents detailing years of abuse. According to the documents, Hernandez began sexually abusing the victim in 2019, when she was around 12 years old and the two were in Mexico.
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The victim was 15 years old when the assault began in 2022. Hernandez helped her illegally enter the United States to live with him in New Port Richey.
Once in Florida, he proceeded to physically and sexually assault her while forcing her to labor to satisfy a “debt” for her illegal immigration. This pattern of abuse and forced labor demonstrated the intensity of exploitation.
Assistant United States Attorney Abigail K. King led the successful prosecution of this case, which resulted from a joint investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, the Clearwater Police Department, and the Pasco Sheriff’s Office.
This lawsuit is part of Project Safe Childhood, a countrywide project started by the Department of Justice in 2006. The initiative aims to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse by combining federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute offenders, as well as to identify, rescue, and seek justice for child victims.
