Gainesville man arrested for human trafficking and sexual battery of a juvenile girl

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Felipe Antonio De Jesu Arteaga, 26, was arrested on November 19 on charges stemming from two incidents in September in which he allegedly made arrangements to meet a juvenile female, picked her up, and sexually battered her.

Arteaga reportedly began communicating with the juvenile victim on September 25, and within a few hours, he allegedly learned her true age, told her he “wanted to feel someone younger,” and made arrangements to pick her up.

After picking up the victim, he drove to a location near her home and sexually battered her in the back seat of his vehicle before driving her home.

On September 27, he again allegedly picked the victim up in a different vehicle and took her to a fast food restaurant, where he bought her food. After eating, he drove her somewhere else and again allegedly sexually battered her in the back seat.

During a forensic interview, the victim reportedly said she did not know Arteaga’s name but only his Snapchat account name. She said he sent her nude pictures of himself and provided details about his family and the neighborhood where he lives. She also provided descriptions of both vehicles and said Arteaga told her he was driving a different vehicle because the first vehicle was being repaired. A Gainesville Police Department detective reportedly confirmed the accuracy of the details reported by the victim.

Messages on the victim’s cell phone were reviewed by the detective and reportedly corroborated her account; location data from her phone also matched her account of the two incidents. The messages reportedly include a video message on September 27 that showed Arteaga’s face, a tattoo on his arm, and the interior of the second vehicle.

Surveillance video from the fast food restaurant reportedly showed the second vehicle entering the drive-through on September 27, with Arteaga in the driver’s seat and the victim in the front passenger seat. The detective noted that Arteaga’s driver’s license was suspended in 2023.

The detective reported that Arteaga’s Snapchat account shows messages to other users in which he says he’s looking to “link up” with “someone closer to my preferences” and asks how old the girls are.

Arteaga has been charged with two counts of sexual battery on a victim between the ages of 12 and 18, human trafficking, four counts of lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim between the ages of 12 and 16, two counts of traveling to meet a minor for unlawful sexual contact, two counts of using a computer to solicit a child to commit an illegal sexual act, and two counts of using a two-way communications device to facilitate a felony.

Arteaga’s full criminal history is unavailable, but he was convicted as a juvenile (16 years old) of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child.

On November 24, Judge David Kreider ordered Arteaga held without bail until trial.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.