Members of the Minor and Family Operations Unit, part of the General Corps of the Canary Islands Police based in Tenerife, arrived in the United States on the morning of Wednesday, February 8, 2023, to advance a case involving an alleged offender identified by initials RGR. The suspect is described as a male minor with no prior criminal record, who is accused of engaging in activities related to sexual exploitation of children under 16. The investigation unfolded as part of a broader effort to protect vulnerable youths and to disrupt networks that facilitate harm against young people, especially in online spaces where predators seek out victims through covert methods.
Initial leads emerged from formal complaints filed in January by four parents of girls aged between 13 and 15. Those reports prompted a proactive collaboration between law enforcement agencies across jurisdictions. At the time, investigations indicated that a young person under 30 had been identified as a volleyball instructor at a training facility located in the La Cuesta area, within the municipality of La Laguna. This contextual detail raised concerns about access to minors in organized youth programs and the potential for abuse of trust inherent in such roles, prompting careful scrutiny of the individual’s activities and associations.
During the inquiry, investigators examined communications believed to connect the detainee with several adolescent girls through social networks and messaging applications. The evidence suggested that the individual assumed roles that could be described as instructor-like or supervisory within a school setting on Tenerife Island, which amplified worries about how easily a young person could manipulate and influence peers outside formal school hours. The investigators focused on how such interactions might be used to establish familiarity, normalize private conversations, and create opportunities to solicit intimate material from minors under pressure or through coercive tactics embedded in seemingly harmless, everyday conversations.
As the probe progressed, it became clear that the communications included attempts to normalize sexual topics and to build a sense of secrecy around these exchanges. The researchers noted that the subject used digital channels to reach out to minors who were not only students but potential participants in ongoing, unseen dynamics outside the classroom. The aim appeared to be to persuade them to share intimate photographs or private content, leveraging a perceived authority in the role of an instructor to lower the victims’ defenses and increase compliance. The case underscores the challenges authorities face in distinguishing legitimate mentorship or coaching from predatory behavior that escalates into exploitation and coercion through online means.
Following the accumulation of substantial evidence, investigators concluded that the suspect engaged in preparatory acts consistent with offenses related to child exploitation material. While some attempts to obtain or transmit material were blocked by the minors themselves or discovered by guardians before any action could be completed, the totality of the actions pointed toward a deliberate strategy to approach children and then produce or disseminate sexualized content. Law enforcement prepared to present the case to judicial authorities, accompanied by the full body of evidence and the relevant procedural steps, with a view toward securing appropriate charges and ensuring protection for the affected youths involved in the inquiry.