A Guatemalan national living illegally in the United States has been sentenced to federal prison after helping smuggle a 14-year-old girl into the country, fraudulently obtaining custody of her through a federal program during the Biden administration for unaccompanied minors, and later sexually assaulting her. 

The Department of Justice announced Wednesday that Juan Tiul Xi, 27, received a 26-month federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to encouraging illegal entry for financial gain, making false statements to the government, and aggravated identity theft. The federal sentence will be served consecutively to an eight-year Ohio state prison sentence he is already serving for sexually assaulting the child. He will serve a little over 10 years behind bars in total.  

Federal prosecutors also announced indictments against three other Guatemalan nationals accused of participating in a broader scheme to smuggle unaccompanied alien children into the United States and fraudulently obtain custody of them through the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).

According to court documents, Tiul Xi helped arrange for the 14-year-old girl and her family to borrow money to pay a “coyote” to bring her into the United States illegally. Prosecutors said he instructed the child to enter the country using the identity and birth certificate of his minor sister so he could falsely claim she was his sibling on an ORR sponsorship application.

ORR approved the application and released the girl into his custody in September 2023. After obtaining custody of the child, Tiul Xi sexually assaulted her, resulting in his conviction on two counts of sexual battery in Ohio state court.

The DOJ said the additional indictments involve Maritza Azucena Cahuec Coc, 38, her brother Carlos Agustin Cahuec Coc, 33, and Gladys Marina Caal Chen, 20, all Guatemalan nationals unlawfully present in the United States.

Prosecutors allege that between December 2020 and October 2023, Maritza Cahuec Coc coordinated with co-conspirators to smuggle illegal immigrants, including minors, into the United States. Authorities say she submitted multiple fraudulent sponsorship applications to ORR using aliases, false identity documents, and fabricated family relationships to gain custody of unaccompanied minors. Several of those applications were approved.

According to the indictment, paychecks issued to other individuals, including at least one child she sponsored, were later deposited into bank accounts controlled by Cahuec Coc and a co-conspirator.

Federal investigators executed a search warrant at Cahuec Coc’s residence on May 22, where they encountered Caal Chen. Authorities allege that Caal Chen had previously been sponsored as an unaccompanied minor through the same network and later submitted her own sponsorship application using an alias while making false statements to ORR.

Carlos Cahuec Coc was arrested days later while driving a vehicle registered to his sister. Authorities said a 16-year-old unaccompanied alien child was in the vehicle at the time. Investigators allege he discussed plans with his sister involving human smugglers bringing another minor into the United States and methods for fraudulently obtaining custody through ORR.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the defendants allegedly exploited a government program intended to protect vulnerable children, leaving them exposed to sexual abuse, trafficking, and other forms of exploitation.

The case comes as the Trump administration has increased scrutiny of the federal government’s handling of unaccompanied alien children released to sponsors during the Biden administration. Homeland Security officials said this week that investigators have located approximately 146,000 children who had previously fallen out of regular government oversight after entering the United States as unaccompanied minors. Administration officials have argued that hundreds of thousands of children were released to sponsors with inadequate follow-up and vetting, creating opportunities for trafficking, labor exploitation, and abuse.

The concerns stem in part from a 2024 DHS Office of Inspector General report that found more than 448,000 unaccompanied minors were transferred from DHS custody to HHS between 2019 and 2023. According to the report, roughly 291,000 children were not issued notices to appear in immigration court, and another 32,000 failed to appear for scheduled proceedings, raising concerns about the government’s ability to monitor their welfare after release.