Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On November 19, Felipe Antonio De Jesu Arteaga, aged 26, was apprehended following allegations linked to two grave incidents in September. These charges involve arranging meetings with a minor, transporting her, and subsequently committing acts of sexual battery.

The troubling interactions allegedly began on September 25, when Arteaga initiated contact with the young victim. Within mere hours, he reportedly discovered her real age and expressed a disturbing desire to be with someone younger. He then proceeded to organize a meeting.

Upon picking up the juvenile, Arteaga allegedly drove to a nearby location where the first incident of sexual battery occurred in the back seat of his vehicle. Afterward, he returned the victim to her home.

Just two days later, on September 27, Arteaga is accused of repeating his actions. This time, he arrived in a different vehicle and took the minor to a fast-food restaurant. After purchasing her a meal, he allegedly drove to another location and committed a second act of sexual battery within the confines of his car.

During a forensic interview, the victim was reportedly unable to provide Arteaga’s real name but identified him through his Snapchat handle. She recounted receiving explicit images from him and offered detailed information about his family and neighborhood. Moreover, she described the two vehicles involved, noting Arteaga’s explanation that the vehicle change was due to repairs. A detective from the Gainesville Police Department corroborated the victim’s account, confirming the accuracy of her details.

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.