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Hector Rivera, 51, of Leesport, first began selling drugs to his victim in 2019, prosecutors said, citing a Grand Jury investigation.
But when she ran out of cash, authorities say Rivera forced her to "perform sexual acts on himself and other men in exchange for crack cocaine." Prosecutors highlighted an April 2020 incident where Rivera brought his victim to a Reading motel and coerced her into "multiple appointments for commercial sex acts" with various other men.
Every time, Rivera kept the cash, the Attorney General said.
“This individual exploited and manipulated a young woman, using drugs and threats of violence to keep her under his control," Henry wrote. "This guilty verdict will ensure that Rivera is held accountable for his cruel and violent crimes. Our office will continue to use every tool at our disposal to prosecute human trafficking crimes and bring predators to justice."
In the July 2021 indictment, state police investigators claimed Rivera and at least two others were part of a wider human trafficking ring operating across Berks County, as Daily Voice then reported. At that time, prosecutors believed Rivera's role was to lure in trafficking victims.
His codefendants' cases are still ongoing.
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