A Bronx man was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison Tuesday for sexually abusing two young relatives over the course of a decade, a case federal prosecutors say was cracked open when customs officers searched his phone as he returned through John F. Kennedy International Airport. Jildo Armando Marin, 34, was arrested in June 2025 after that search, and he later pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of child pornography possession.
U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl handed down the sentence in Manhattan federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. The federal announcement identifies the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York as the office handling the case. Local media coverage also attributed quotes in the case to Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark.
A Decade of Abuse Against Two Relatives
Prosecutors disclosed that Marin sexually abused one of two young family members over the course of a decade. Reports said the abuse began when both children were eight and lasted a decade.
Reports also detailed abuse of the second family member. News 12 said the abuse of both victims began when they were eight and lasted a decade.
Phone Search at JFK Uncovered Explicit Images
A search of Marin's cellphone turned up dozens of child-sex-abuse images, according to News 12.
The case followed a phone inspection at JFK and was handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office, per the same federal announcement. CBP conducted 55,318 electronic device searches at ports of entry nationwide in Fiscal Year 2025 under its border search authority, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
JFK has seen similar interceptions before. In a separate case in June 2026, CBP officers at the airport stopped an arriving international traveler and discovered approximately 14,000 hidden child sexual abuse images and videos during a secondary device inspection, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Mandatory Minimums Under Federal Law
Marin's 25-year sentence falls within the range set by federal statute 18 U.S.C. § 2251, which provides for 15 to 30 years in prison for a violation involving sexual exploitation of a minor, according to Eisner Gorin LLP. Beyond the prison term, the account does not provide further details.
News12 Bronx reported on the case, which involved a decade of abuse and a phone search at JFK that surfaced digital evidence. The reports identify the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and quote Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark.
