116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Home / News / Crime & Courts
Iowa City man charged with repeatedly paying 14-year-old for sex
The man is accused of meeting the teen 13 times last summer

Feb. 19, 2025 12:26 pm, Updated: Feb. 19, 2025 4:22 pm
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
IOWA CITY — An Iowa City man was arrested Tuesday on charges that he repeatedly paid a 14-year-old girl to meet him for sexual acts.
Pablo Moises Mejia Aguilar, 41, is charged with 13 counts of third-degree sexual abuse, 13 counts of prostitution, and one count of drug distribution to a person under 18.
According to criminal complaints, Mejia Aguilar met with a 14-year-old girl 13 different times between June and August 2024, paying her $100 each time to engage in sexual activity with him. He also provided her with drugs and alcohol and a cellphone with service that he used to set up the meetings with her.
Mejia Aguilar regularly helped the girl sneak out of her residence in the middle of the night. He would take her to a residence that he owns, as well as to the business he owns — Super Star Granite LLC, in Iowa City, according to criminal complaints and a search warrant request. Sometimes he also would take her to vacant apartments that he was in the process of remodeling.
A warrant was issued for his arrest on Feb. 12, and he was taken into custody Tuesday. A no-contact order was filed on behalf of the 14-year-old. Mejia Aguilar is being held in the Johnson County Jail on a $285,000 bond.
Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com