Pomona nurse assistant sentenced to life in prison for child sex abuse crimes

A certified nursing assistant who worked at an Inland Empire group home for severely disabled patients has been sentenced to life in prison for exploiting and sexually abusing children at the group home facility where he worked.

Steve Jackson Rodriguez, 38, of Pomona, committed multiple child exploitation crimes, including filming himself sexually abusing severely disabled children at the home facility while he was working as the nighttime caretaker.

Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Attorney, District of Southern California announced the sentence Jan. 15. "Rodriguez took advantage of our most vulnerable population. The horror he inflicted upon these children was unconscionable. Homeland Security Investigations will stop at nothing to bring people like Rodriguez to justice," said Eddy Wang, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles.

Rodriguez pleaded guilty in September 2022 to two counts of obtaining custody of a minor for the purposes of producing child pornography, five counts of production of child pornography, and one count of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.

From January 2016 to May 2020, Rodriguez produced sexually explicit images and videos with four minor victims, three of whom were severely disabled patients at his place of employment.

One of the disabled victims was 8 years old when Rodriguez began filming his illegal sexual conduct, two years after he began abusing this victim.

In a related matter, during a five-day trial in November 2022, co-defendants Cyr Dino Banguguilan, 36, of Azusa, and Miguel Bocardo, 23, of Baldwin Park, who received the exploitative material, were each found guilty of one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

Banguguilan and Bocardo face a sentencing hearing Feb. 24, where they will face a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free tip line at 866-347-2423 or by completing its onlinetip form.