Tag:

Human trafficking

Pimp Admits Trafficking Aspiring Teen Model In Central PA, DA Says Pimp Admits Trafficking Aspiring Teen Model In Central PA, DA Says
Pimp Admits Trafficking Aspiring Teen Model In Central PA, DA Says The first man captured by the Lancaster County Human Trafficking Task Force has been sentenced after confessing to his crimes, the District Attorney announced on Monday, April 8. More than two years after his arrest, Louis Fountain, 34 of Brookhaven, Delaware County pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking individuals, four counts of promoting prostitution, and one count of living off prostitutes before Lancaster County President Judge David Ashworth on March 29, as detailed in the release. Judge Ashworth sentenced him to serve a "prison term of one year, 11 months, and eight d…
VA Man Who Came To PA For Sex With Child Stays For Prison Sentence: DA VA Man Who Came To PA For Sex With Child Stays For Prison Sentence: DA
VA Man Who Came To PA For Sex With Child Stays For Prison Sentence: DA A Virginia man who pleaded guilty in connection to traveling to Pennsylvania to have sex with a child has been sentenced, the Lancaster County District Attorney's office announced on Tuesday, Feb. 20.  Tanner Iskra, 38 of the 2100 block of Harpoon Drive, Stafford, VA, pleaded guilty in Sept. 2023 to attempted statutory sexual assault (11 years older), attempted corruption of minors, and criminal use of a communication facility, DA Heather Adams detailed in the release.  Iskra was sentenced to 11-23 months in prison, eight years of probation, and he must register as a sex offender …
Philly Ex-Con Forced Captive Girls Into Prostitution At NJ Hotels: Indictment Philly Ex-Con Forced Captive Girls Into Prostitution At NJ Hotels: Indictment
Philly Ex-Con Forced Captive Girls Into Prostitution At NJ Hotels: Indictment An ex-con who was captured after a 15-year-old victim escaped from a South Jersey hotel room was indicted on a host of charges that include human trafficking, promoting prostitution and sexually assaulting minors, authorities announced on Thursday. Nieem Johnson, 40, whose last known address was in Philadelphia, was arrested in Atlantic City last Aug. 31 following a months-long state investigation, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. A second victim was rescued during the arrest, Platkin said in a Jan. 18 release. “The allegations in the indictment – holding two victims in a…
15 Men Caught In Undercover Sting At Central PA Hotel 15 Men Caught In Undercover Sting At Central PA Hotel
15 Men Caught In Undercover Sting At Central PA Hotel Fifteen men from across Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Colorado have been arrested while allegedly trying to meet with prostitutes at a Central Pennsylvania hotel. Instead of finding the women, the men thought they had communicated with to arrange for sex in exchange for cash, they found the Cumberland County Human Trafficking Task Force waiting to take them into custody, according to a release by the Cumberland County District Attorney's office on Wednesday, Oct. 4.  The men had really been in contact with undercover officers with the task force as they conducted "Operation Impact …
Central PA Massage Parlor Raid Turns Human Trafficking Bust: DA Central PA Massage Parlor Raid Turns Human Trafficking Bust: DA
Central PA Massage Parlor Raid Turns Human Trafficking Bust: DA A 12-agency joint investigation has led to the downfall of a large-scale human trafficking ring across three Central Pennsylvania counties, authorities announced on Friday, Sept. 1. The sex and human trafficking ring was broken up by a year-long operation: Closed2Trafficking, which targeted 10 massage parlors in York, Dauphin, and Cumberland counties. District Attorney Sean McCormack released the following statement on the operation: “Since we began these operations targeting sex buyers who drive the demand for commercial sex, we have arrested 45 individuals. Every single dollar that …
Human Trafficker Assaulted Girl In Central Pennsylvania, Police Say Human Trafficker Assaulted Girl In Central Pennsylvania, Police Say
Human Trafficker Assaulted Girl In Central Pennsylvania, Police Say  A 26-year-old man is wanted on a warrant in connection with a human trafficking case in Central Pennsylvania, authorities say.  Trequan Lemont Santiago of Windsor, PA  is accused of luring a girl between the ages of 11 and 16 into a vehicle and sexually assaulting her, according to a release by Middletown borough police.  Additional information about the situation was not immediately available on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.  Santiago has been charged with the following offenses, police say and court records confirm: Trafficking individuals Statutory sexual assault …
CLIMATE OF FEAR: Jersey Doc Admits Harboring Indian Nationals As Unpaid Domestics CLIMATE OF FEAR: Jersey Doc Admits Harboring Indian Nationals As Unpaid Domestics
Climate OF FEAR: Jersey Doc Admits Harboring Indian Nationals As Unpaid Domestics A Jersey Shore doctor must pay $642,212 to two undocumented women from India whose true identities she hid for eight years while harboring them as unpaid domestics, federal authorities said. Harsha Sahni, 66, of Tinton Falls, also must cover $200,000 worth of treatment of a brain aneurysm that one of the women suffered while they worked in her and her family's homes, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Federal prosecutors required the payments as part of a plea deal that allowed Sahni to avoid the potential consequences of a conviction at a trial, the U.S. attorney said. In exchange, S…
Jersey Shore Man Admits Recording Himself Sexually Assaulting Young Girl, Then Sharing It Jersey Shore Man Admits Recording Himself Sexually Assaulting Young Girl, Then Sharing It
Jersey Shore Man Admits Recording Himself Sexually Assaulting Young Girl, Then Sharing It A Jersey Shore man admitted recording himself sexually assaulting a young girl who authorities said was under 8 years old. FBI agents zeroed in on Christian Importuna, 27, of Englishtown, when he tried trading the videos with what turned out to be an undercover detective in March 2020, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. One of the videos shows a girl who appears less than 8 years old giving him oral sex, a complaint on file in U.S. District Court says. In the other, he is rubbing the crotch of a sleeping child who may be the same girl, it says. FBI investigators “linked the videos to…
10 Pennsylvania Men Caught By Undercover Police In Sex Sting: DA 10 Pennsylvania Men Caught By Undercover Police In Sex Sting: DA
10 Pennsylvania Men Caught By Undercover Police In Sex Sting: DA Ten central Pennsylvania men were caught in an undercover sex sting at an area hotel, the Cumberland County District Attorney’s office announced on Thursday, Sept. 15.  The following men answered an online advertisement for sex and arrived at a Hampden Township hotel only to end up paying undercover officers: John Duncan, age 69, Carlisle  Andrew Monelli, age 25, Carlisle  Jerry Moreno, age 21, Harrisburg  Michael Myers, age 47, Carlisle  Hayatullah Parwani, age 26, Harrisburg  Dennis Stoner, age 62, Mechanicsburg  Prakash Sunam, age 25, Dillsburg  M…
Human Traffickers Forced Victims Into Sex At Fortified Brothels In Asbury, Trenton, NJ AG Says Human Traffickers Forced Victims Into Sex At Fortified Brothels In Asbury, Trenton, NJ AG Says
Human Traffickers Forced Victims Into Sex At Fortified Brothels In Asbury, Trenton, NJ AG Says Customers bought poker chips to have sex with an underage girl and women who were forced into prostitution against their will by a human trafficking ring that operated out of Monmouth and Mercer counties, authorities said. New Jersey State Police watched 10 men enter a Hudson Street home in Trenton through the back door and then exit 15 to 20 minutes later one January night, Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. A man then came out and locked the gate, the attorney general said. A search-warranted raid later that night included members of the State Police T.E.A.M.S. Unit, K-9 Un…
11-Year-Old Among Hundreds Of Nationwide Sexploitation Victims Rescued By FBI, Local Agencies 11-Year-Old Among Hundreds Of Nationwide Sexploitation Victims Rescued By FBI, Local Agencies
11-Year-Old Among Hundreds Of Nationwide Sexploitation Victims Rescued By FBI, Local Agencies FBI agents based in New Jersey teamed up with local, county and state authorities to rescue five sexually exploited teenagers who were among hundreds of victims located or identified during a two-week nationwide blitz. The New Jersey joint FBI operation with State Police, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office and police from Newark, Jersey City and Morris Township was part of a nationwide enforcement campaign dubbed “Operation Cross Country.” Across the United States, similar operations the first two weeks in August identified and located a total of 84 minor victims of child sex traffickin…
PA Man Who Sex Trafficked 15-Year-Old Girl Learns His Fate PA Man Who Sex Trafficked 15-Year-Old Girl Learns His Fate
PA Man Who Sex Trafficked 15-Year-Old Girl Learns His Fate A Philadelphia man who sex-trafficked a 15-year-old girl was sentenced Monday, June 6 to 17 to 40 years in state prison, authorities said. Andrew Hall, 29, pleaded guilty on Feb. 28 to a slew of charges, including human trafficking of a minor, statutory sexual assault of a minor, promoting prostitution of a minor, and photographing child sex acts, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office. Hall was arrested on Aug. 21, 2020, when Bensalem police officers were called around 12:30 a.m. to the Best Western on the 3400 block of Street Road on a report of child prostitut…
NJ Transgender Family Used Daughter, 7, To Make Fetishized Porn (SENTENCING) NJ Transgender Family Used Daughter, 7, To Make Fetishized Porn (SENTENCING)
NJ Transgender Family Used Daughter, 7, To Make Fetishized Porn (Sentencing) A mom and three accomplices were sentenced to a combined 67 years in prison for sexually abusing the woman's 7-year-old daughter to make "amateur, BDSM and taboo fetish" pornography in the child's New Jersey home, authorities said. Marina Volz (aka Matthew Volz, 32), Ashley Romero (aka Adam Romero), 28), Sean Allen, 54, and Dulcinea Gnecco, 21, were sentenced by Somerset County Superior Court Judge Peter J. Tober on Friday, May 6,  Acting Prosecutor Annmarie Taggart said. The investigation into the four began in January 2019, when an anonymous caller contacted the New Jersey Divis…
PA Pimp Used Hotels To Sex Traffick 18-Year-Old Trying To Model, Authorities Say PA Pimp Used Hotels To Sex Traffick 18-Year-Old Trying To Model, Authorities Say
PA Pimp Used Hotels To Sex Traffick 18-Year-Old Trying To Model, Authorities Say An 18-year-old girl who wanted to become a model was lured into prostitution by a man who claimed to be her boyfriend. Lancaster County detectives first learned about this girl after seeing an advertisement online “listing a female who was performing sex acts for money in Lancaster,” according to a release by the district attorney’s office. The detectives texted the number in the ad and agreed to pay $260 to spend an hour with the female at a hotel in Lancaster City on Mar. 1, 2022, the release details. The undercover detective met the girl, gave her the money, and discussed what sex ac…
Queens Livery Driver Who Travelled To Cape May For Sex With Underage Girl Gets 19½ Years Queens Livery Driver Who Travelled To Cape May For Sex With Underage Girl Gets 19½ Years
Queens Livery Driver Who Travelled To Cape May For Sex With Underage Girl Gets 19½ Years A livery driver who traveled more than 300 miles roundtrip between his Queens home and Cape May for sex with an underage girl was sentenced to 19½ years in federal prison. Richard Gabriel Piedra Ordonez, 37, must serve out just about all of the plea-bargained sentence because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Piedra pretended to be 19 when he began communicating with the under-16 girl on Snapchat and other social media and messaging platforms, U.S. Attorney Phillip Sellinger said. Over the next several months, by his own admission, Piedra drove to New Jersey for sex and twice…
Undercover Detective Nabs 14 'Johns' In PA Prostitution Ring Undercover Detective Nabs 14 'Johns' In PA Prostitution Ring
Undercover Detective Nabs 14 'Johns' In PA Prostitution Ring An online ad and a local hotel helped lay a thirst trap for police to capture 14 so-called "Johns" who participated in a sex trafficking ring in Pennsylvania. The Lancaster County Human Trafficking Task Force, launched on January 11, but in less than 2 months it has successfully completed it's operation, Lancaster County media specialist Sean McBryan says in a statement released on Thursday, Mar. 24. After the task placed the ad online, the undercover female detective answered over 100 "Johns" who replied to the online ad— all in about eight hours on Mar. 10, McBryan says. Some of the res…
WV Man Drove North Jersey Girl To Maryland To Sexually Assault Her, Left Her In PA: Prosecutor WV Man Drove North Jersey Girl To Maryland To Sexually Assault Her, Left Her In PA: Prosecutor
WV Man Drove North Jersey Girl To Maryland To Sexually Assault Her, Left Her In PA: Prosecutor A West Virginia man has been charged with human trafficking after he picked up a 14-year-old North Jersey girl he had promised a relationship with, drove to Maryland to sexually assault her, and abandoned her in Pennsylvania when he learned that she had been reported missing, authorities announced. Chad C. Corbin, Jr. was charged with first- and second-degree human trafficking, conspiracy to commit human trafficking, first-degree kidnapping, conspiracy to commit sexual assault, luring, and child endangerment, Warren County Prosecutor James L. Pfeiffer said on Tuesday, March 15. Corbin, now …
GOTCHA! NJ Fugitive Wanted For Sex Trafficking Captured At Newark Airport GOTCHA! NJ Fugitive Wanted For Sex Trafficking Captured At Newark Airport
Gotcha! NJ Fugitive Wanted For Sex Trafficking Captured At Newark Airport A fugitive from Bergen County wanted for running a massive sex-trafficking ring in North Jersey, Rockland and New York City was captured trying to re-enter the United States from Colombia, authorities confirmed. Birmania “Nancy” Rincon, 62, a Colombian national living in Teaneck, was among the ringleaders of a crew that forced dozens of women into prostitution, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. She was in the wind, however, when authorities seized 21 defendants during a series of early-morning raids at 19 homes and other locations in Bergen and Hudson counties exactly two weeks ag…
Pennsylvania Pimp Sentenced For Sex Trafficking Of Drugged Women In NJ Motels: Prosecutor Pennsylvania Pimp Sentenced For Sex Trafficking Of Drugged Women In NJ Motels: Prosecutor
Pennsylvania Pimp Sentenced For Sex Trafficking Of Drugged Women In NJ Motels: Prosecutor A 49-year-old man from Pennsylvania has been sentenced to 10 years in New Jersey state prison for human trafficking and failing to register as a sex offender, authorities said. Michael Tedesco, of Reading, admitted transporting women to motels in South Jersey to engage in paid sexual encounters that he arranged and then keeping a portion of what they earned for himself, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina. Tedesco pleaded guilty in December to first-degree human trafficking as well as third-degree failure to register as a sex offender for an unrelated offense, Coffina sa…
Missing Underage NJ Girl Rescued From Sex Trafficking Trio Missing Underage NJ Girl Rescued From Sex Trafficking Trio
Missing Underage NJ Girl Rescued From Sex Trafficking Trio An underage girl who'd been reported missing was rescued from a trio of South Jersey human traffickers who were prostituting her, authorities said. Marquise Ogawa, 28, Chyaire Lee, 26, and Jazmin Scott, 21, all of Lawnside, were being held in the Camden County Correctional Facility in Camden, charged with various child prostitution, trafficking and endangerment counts. The victim was reported missing out of Voorhees in late October of last year, Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck and New Jersey State Police Supt. Col. Patrick J. Callahan said in a joint release Tuesday. Detectives fro…
3 Pennsylvanians Charged In Human Trafficking, Drug Smuggling Ring, State Police Say 3 Pennsylvanians Charged In Human Trafficking, Drug Smuggling Ring, State Police Say
3 Pennsylvanians Charged In Human Trafficking, Drug Smuggling Ring, State Police Say Pennsylvania State Police have charged two Berks County men and a Lancaster County woman in connection with a drug distribution and human trafficking ring operating in and around Reading, Berks County. Hector M. Rivera, 50, of Reading; Dushawn O. Ellis, 31, of Reading; and Bridget M. Thompson, 36, of Lancaster; have been charged with various crimes related to corrupt organizations, trafficking individuals, prostitution, and other related offenses. "Human trafficking is prevalent in our own communities within the commonwealth," said Major Jeremy Richard, director of the Pennsylvania State Po…
PA Man Offers $300, Travels To South Jersey For Sex With 14-Year-Old Girl, AG Says PA Man Offers $300, Travels To South Jersey For Sex With 14-Year-Old Girl, AG Says
PA Man Offers $300, Travels To South Jersey For Sex With 14-Year-Old Girl, AG Says A Pennsylvania construction employee was arrested on felony charges for allegedly traveling to South Jersey for sex with a 14-year-old girl, authorities said. Robert Reinhart, 52, of Telford, PA was one of 31 men arrested in a statewide crackdown of online child abuse titled "Operation 24/7," the New Jersey Attorney General’s office announced Wednesday. Reinhart allegedly texted an undercover detective who was posing as the adult sister of a fictitious 14-year-old girl, authorities said. He agreed to pay the older sister $300 to have sex with her "younger sister," autho…
Deportee Who Raped NJ Girl, 15, After Sneaking Back Into US Gets 7¾ Years Deportee Who Raped NJ Girl, 15, After Sneaking Back Into US Gets 7¾ Years
Deportee Who Raped NJ Girl, 15, After Sneaking Back Into US Gets 7¾ Years UPDATE: A deportee who snuck back into the U.S. and was living illegally in Paterson was sentenced Tuesday to 95 months in federal prison for raping a 15-year-old city girl. Juan Carlos Morales-Pedraza, a 35-year-old Mexican citizen who was born in Ecuador, had been deported in 2010, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. He'd re-entered the United States when he approached the girl in Passaic County in April 2019, had sex with her, then took her with him on a planned trip to Chicago, Honig said. They never made it that far, however. An Ohio state trooper pulled Morales-Pedraza’s 201…