Tennessee man sentenced to 30 years for sexually exploiting 14-year-old girl in Colombia

ANTIOCH, Tenn. (WZTV) — Federal prosecutors say a Tennessee man spent months exchanging thousands of messages with a 14-year-old girl in rural Colombia before flying overseas to sexually exploit her in person.

Now, Ramon Arellano Sandoval, 64, of Antioch, has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, a federal jury convicted Arellano Sandoval in February 2026 of attempted sex trafficking of a minor and attempted production of child sexual abuse material.

Investigators said Arellano Sandoval communicated with the victim through thousands of text and video messages while knowing she was underage.

Prosecutors said he repeatedly requested sexually explicit videos from the girl and paid her electronically to produce the material.

Authorities said the communication eventually escalated beyond online contact. According to court records, Arellano Sandoval later traveled from the United States to Colombia, where prosecutors said he engaged in commercial sex acts with the minor victim.

U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II sentenced him to 360 months, or 30 years, in prison.

“Today’s 30-year sentence makes clear that distance is no shield from justice,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said in a statement. “If you use the internet, money, or international travel to prey on a child, we will find you, prosecute you, and seek the full measure of federal punishment.”

Arellano Sandoval was convicted of attempted sex trafficking of a minor and attempted production of visual depictions involving the sexual exploitation of a minor.