Eight Sentenced in Interstate Human Trafficking Conspiracy

Eight illegal immigrants have been sentenced for their roles in a ruthless interstate human trafficking conspiracy that funneled dozens of undocumented women into commercial sex operations across Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The ring operated from 2014 to 2015, exploiting vulnerable women for profit before wiring proceeds overseas. All defendants were sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Florida.

The defendants and their sentences are as follows: Edegardo Osorno Rodriguez, 38, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, 60 months in prison; Mauro Gonzalez-Lira, 25, McComb, Mississippi, 60 months; Jose Juan Ruiz Prudencio, 41, Montgomery, Alabama, 48 months; Romon Tobon, 46, Starkville, Mississippi, 42 months; Antonio Flores-Esparza, 32, Pensacola, Florida, 24 months; Jose Alvaro Trujillo-Santiz, 46, Panama City Beach, Florida, 18 months; Emerson Corvera, 21, Montgomery, Alabama, 9 months; and Rosa Mirtha Cruz Vidal, 35, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, 8.5 months.

Between February and May 2016, seven defendants pled guilty to conspiracy to transport, harbor, and market undocumented women for prostitution. Rodriguez, Flores-Esparza, Gonzalez-Lira, and Prudencio also admitted to enticing individuals to travel in interstate commerce for prostitution. Rodriguez, Flores-Esparza, Prudencio, Tobon, and Corvera pled guilty to transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution. Tobon additionally pled guilty to illegal entry after deportation. Cruz Vidal pled guilty in May 2016 to fraud and misuse of a falsely made permanent resident alien card.

Upon completion of their prison terms, each defendant will be handed over to the Department of Homeland Security for deportation. Cruz Vidal has already been removed from the United States. Lazaro Juarez-Juarez, 34, of Atlanta, Georgia, who was indicted in the same case, remains at large and has not been apprehended.

“Combatting human trafficking is a priority of the Department of Justice and my office,” said U.S. Attorney Christopher P. Canova. “Dozens of women were brought into the United States illegally and exploited by the defendants to engage in prostitution in several states for the defendants’ profit.” He vowed continued collaboration with federal, state, and local agencies to dismantle sex trafficking networks.

“Human trafficking is a violation of its victims’ civil rights,” said FBI Jacksonville SAC Charles P. Spencer. HSI Tampa SAC Susan L. McCormick called the operation an abomination, praising her agents’ relentless work. The 15-month investigation was led by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen M. Kunz, and stems from a prior federal kidnapping case in Panama City.

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