Redwood City Driving Instructor Gets 18-Year Sentence For Child Porn

REDWOOD CITY, CA — A San Mateo-based instructor who ran a Redwood City driving school will serve 18 years in federal prison after admitting he "recruited" minors to create child pornography that he later distributed.

Johnnatan Zelaya pleaded guilty to the charges in May, admitting to the court that he targeted girls between 14 and 17 years old between November 2013 and last January. According to the Department of Justice, Zelaya had sex with at least two underage victims and filmed himself doing so at least once, then later provided that video to a "client."

According to his plea agreement, Zelaya used social media apps and his driving school to find victims and persuade them to create sexually explicit content, offering to "manage" the sale of the content online. Prosecutors said he gave victims directions about content that customers wanted and how much they were willing to pay.

During his January 2022 arrest, investigators found 41 videos and 10 photos of the victims, along with more images of unidentified girls.

Zelaya pleaded guilty to all charges in May, and on Tuesday a federal judge sentenced him to 18 years in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release. The case was jointly investigated by the FBI and Redwood City Police Department with assistance from the Atherton and Burlingame police departments.