Alexandre Theodore Banta, Child Sex Trafficking, Texas 2020

A New Mexico man has been sentenced to 150 months in prison for his role in a child sex trafficking ring in El Paso, Texas.

Alexandre Theodore Banta, 37, of Roswell, New Mexico, was sentenced in a federal court in El Paso to 150 months in prison for transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

According to court documents, Banta, a registered sex offender, traveled with a juvenile from Roswell to El Paso in April 2020, engaging in sexual acts in the vehicle along the way. He and the juvenile spent between one and a half to two weeks in an El Paso motel, where Banta further engaged in sexual acts with the minor and arranged for the minor to have sex with other individuals in exchange for payment.

The El Paso Police Department was alerted by someone at the motel who said they had seen a young girl entering and exiting various motel rooms and overheard a tenant of one of the rooms describe a sexual encounter with her. Banta was arrested on June 12, 2020, for Sexual Assault of a Minor. He was served a federal arrest warrant on August 18, 2020, and extradited to El Paso.

"This predator committed heinous sexual acts of his own with a minor, while also forcing her into prostitution out of a motel room and lining his pockets," said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. "I appreciate the vigilance of those who alerted the El Paso Police Department, and our partner agencies who conducted the ensuing investigation. This case serves as an important reminder that sexual exploitation can and does occur in our communities, and we can all play a role in prevention."

Banta's sentence was handed down as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. The case was brought as part of this initiative, which marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

The case was investigated by HSI and EPPD, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Valenzuela prosecuting the case. Special Agent in Charge Francisco B. Burrola for the HSI El Paso Division stated, "Child exploitation is one of the most heinous crimes in modern society, and this case exemplifies one of the worst. The sentence fits the crime."

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtx/pr/new-mexico-man-spend-more-12-years-prison-illicit-conduct-minor