A Vienna man, Michael Jamie Inofuentes, 45, was sentenced to 18 years and four months in prison after being convicted of sex trafficking a child and engaging in illicit sexual conduct abroad.
Court records show that on November 1, 2024, Inofuentes returned to the United States from Colombia through Miami International Airport. Authorities flagged him for secondary inspection due to suspicious payments made to an individual suspected of involvement in child sex trafficking in Colombia. During a search of his belongings by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), agents found messages on his cellphones indicating he had solicited a 15-year-old Colombian girl for commercial sex. Evidence showed that Inofuentes knew the victim was a minor who faced hunger and homelessness, and that he paid her for sex at least three times in 2024.
When questioned by law enforcement, Inofuentes first denied having sex with the minor but later admitted to the relationship. He also stated that he has children in Colombia with a woman who was underage when she became pregnant. After the initial interview, Inofuentes was allowed to return home. On November 4, 2024, as he tried to board a flight from Dulles International Airport to Colombia, authorities stopped him again and he admitted offering money for sex at a hotel.
Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C., led the investigation with support from HSI’s Miami Field Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Halper and Laura D. Withers prosecuted the case.
The prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at fighting child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide. The project coordinates federal, state, and local resources to identify offenders using the internet to exploit children and works to rescue victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
A copy of this press release is available on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Additional court documents can be accessed through PACER by searching Case No. 1:25-cr-5.
