California Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material and Coercing and Enticing a Minor

Tampa, Florida - Rigoberto Rios Gallardo (33, Los Angeles, California) has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge William F. Jung to 30 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for three counts of production of child sexual abuse material and one count of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

Rios Gallardo pleaded guilty on March 2, 2026.

According to court documents, Rios Gallardo initially met the 12-year-old victim on TikTok and began communicating with the victim on other internet-based applications including Telegram, Discord and Signal. On three dates in August and September 2024, Rios Gallardo used, persuaded, induced, enticed and coerced the victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual images. Between August 2024 and December 2024, Rios Gallardo knowingly persuaded, induced, enticed and coerced the victim to engage in sexual activity.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the North Port Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Courtney Derry.

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.projectsafechildhood.gov.