A Guatemalan national and former Los Angeles resident, Miguel Angel Batz Jr., 43, was extradited from Guatemala to face federal charges in the United States. Authorities allege that Batz produced child sexual abuse material involving five minors while living in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Batz, also known as “Mike Batz,” arrived at Los Angeles International Airport after being transported from Guatemala. He was arraigned in United States District Court in Los Angeles, where he pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of production of child pornography. A federal magistrate judge ordered that Batz be held without bond, with a trial scheduled for October 7.
The indictment, which was returned by a federal grand jury in June 2022 and unsealed today, accuses Batz of enticing and coercing five minors under the age of 18 to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of creating visual depictions. The alleged offenses involved using computers, cellphones, and the internet to produce and transmit these images across state and international lines.
Batz was initially charged in Los Angeles Superior Court with contacting a minor to commit a lewd act before fleeing to Guatemala. At the time of the alleged crimes, he had legal status in the United States.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If convicted on all counts, Batz faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years per count and could receive up to 30 years per count in federal prison.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation into this case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office acknowledged assistance from several agencies: “The U.S. Attorney’s Office thanks the Guatemalan National Civil Police Transnational Anti-Gang Unit and FBI Legal Attaché suboffice in Guatemala City for their assistance in this matter. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs working with Guatemalan law enforcement authorities provided critical assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Batz to the United States.”
Assistant United States Attorney Brandon E. Martinez-Jones from the Violent and Organized Crime Section is prosecuting this case.
