San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced today that five men have been criminally charged after an undercover chat sting caught them soliciting minors online for sex. The defendants are Jorge Nieto, 27; Michael Pauter, 43; Romuald Santiago, 32; Reuben Teague, 50; and Jhonny Rodriguez Diaz, 37, and all five have pleaded not guilty.
The District Attorney's Office confirmed the charges in a post shared by Brooke Jenkins on social media. According to SF Standard, Nieto, Pauter, Santiago and Teague each face two felony counts of meeting a minor for a lewd purpose along with two misdemeanor counts of arranging such a meeting. Rodriguez Diaz faces a single misdemeanor count of arranging a meeting with a minor, and Teague was additionally charged with a misdemeanor count of resisting or obstructing a peace officer.
1/ SFDA @BrookeJenkinsSF announced today that Jorge Nieto, Michael Pauter, Jhonny Rodriguez Diaz, Romuald Santiago, & Reuben Teague have been charged in connection to an undercover sting operation involving minors conducted by the @SheriffSF. 🧵
— SF DISTRICT ATTORNEY (@SFDAOffice) August 5, 2026
RELEASE: https://t.co/wKWm4YHgA3 pic.twitter.com/PZbxdH0tW0
Decoy House Lured Four Men Into Deputies' Hands
The charges stem from an undercover chat operation carried out between July 29 and July 31, according to SFist. The multi-agency effort involved the San Francisco Sheriff's Office, other Bay Area law enforcement agencies, central Florida investigators and the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center, all working under a national Internet Crimes Against Children initiative. Investigators set up a decoy residence in San Francisco, and four of the men arrived there separately expecting to meet children for sex, only to be arrested by sheriff's deputies as soon as they walked in.
Seven people were initially taken into custody during the sting, but prosecutors ultimately filed charges against five, SF Standard reported. Four of the defendants remain held in custody, with prosecutors describing them as public safety risks.
No Single Predator Profile, Officials Say
Jenkins said the suspects weren't merely seeking to exploit children online — they intended to sexually assault them, per SF Standard's report. San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto added that the suspects range in age from 18 to 50 and come from varied backgrounds, which he said shows there is no single profile for online child predators.
One of the charged men, Teague, previously worked as an executive director overseeing real asset impact investments at Prudential Financial before founding his own private advisory firm, the outlet reported. He holds degrees from Princeton University and New York University School of Law, according to the same account.
Legal Stakes Escalate for Those Who Show Up
Under California Penal Code 288.4, arranging a meeting with a minor for a lewd purpose is a wobbler offense that prosecutors can charge as a misdemeanor or a felony, according to Cron Israels & Stark. But once a suspect physically travels to the arranged meeting location, the law firm notes, the offense triggers state prison exposure under PC 288.4(b) along with mandatory registration as a sex offender under Penal Code 290.
Part of a Broader Crackdown on Child Exploitation
Jenkins has consistently sought pre-trial detention without bail for defendants charged with felony child abuse, molestation or human trafficking involving minors since taking office, as Hoodline previously reported. In January, Jenkins highlighted San Francisco's multi-agency Human Trafficking Task Force, which pairs local, state and federal law enforcement with victim service providers, according to Hoodline's coverage of a related case.
