MIAMI — A longtime Cleveland police officer is facing federal charges in South Florida after authorities said he was caught with child sexual abuse videos at Miami International Airport after arriving on a flight from Colombia on Tuesday.
According to a federal criminal complaint, Officer Rafael Rodriguez arrived at MIA on an American Airlines flight from Bogota and customs officers selected him for a secondary inspection.
Officers conducted a border search on his cellphone and “saw files containing, reflecting and depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct,” the complaint states.
In the complaint, a Homeland Security Investigations agent described five videos found within the Telegram application showing “prepubescent” girls being raped and sexually abused. At least one of the files was downloaded before he returned to the U.S., it states.
Authorities said before he invoked his Miranda rights, Rodriguez told investigators that he was traveling from Colombia and lives in Ohio, volunteering that he was a Cleveland police officer.
A police spokesperson confirmed that Rodriguez, a 24-year veteran most recently posted to the city’s airport, is now on paid leave, according to reports by multiple Cleveland news outlets.
Rodriguez did not show up in Federal Bureau of Prisons records as of Thursday morning and his online federal court case file did not list any past or upcoming court appearances.
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
