A Sioux City man who sexually assaulted a child pled guilty March 10, 2022, in federal court in Sioux City. Juan Pablo Hernandez, age 44, from Sioux City, Iowa was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a child.
At the plea hearing, Hernandez admitted to driving from South Sioux City, Nebraska to Sioux City with a minor under the age of 12 to sexually assault the minor.
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 the United States Attorneys’ 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 www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Hernandez remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Hernandez faces a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 5 years up to life of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons and was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-4093.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.