Jovan Rendon-Reyes, Sex Trafficking, New York 2019
WASHINGTON – Five members of an international criminal organization known as the Rendon-Reyes Trafficking Organization (the “Organization”) were sentenced to prison terms of 15 to 25 years by United States District Court Judge Edward R. Korman in Brooklyn, New York.
The defendants, Jovan Rendon-Reyes, 32, aka Jovani, of Mexico, and four others, previously pleaded guilty to racketeering, sex trafficking, and other federal charges following their arrests in Mexico and the United States. Between December 2004 and November 2015, the Organization, based in Tenancingo, Tlaxcala, Mexico, smuggled numerous young women and girls from Mexico and Central America into the United States, and forced them to engage in prostitution for the Organization’s profit, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars that were then laundered back to Mexico.
According to court documents, Jovan Rendon-Reyes forced a minor to perform countless commercial sex acts for a substantial period using violence, manipulation and fear. Among other abusive acts, he raped the victim, and he repeatedly and severely beat her when she did not earn enough money.
Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, United States Attorney Richard P. Donoghue of the Eastern District of New York, Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and Homeland Security Investigations Executive Associate Director Derek Benner (HSI), announced the sentences.
“These well-deserved sentences reflect the gravity of the human trafficking crimes these defendants committed,” stated Acting Attorney General Whitaker. “The defendants operated an extensive sex trafficking enterprise that preyed on vulnerable young women and girls, deceiving them with false promises, coercing their compliance, and compelling them into submission through beatings, threats, isolation, and intimidation.”
The defendants were sentenced to the following prison terms:
Jovan Rendon-Reyes, 32, aka Jovani, of Mexico, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The amount to be paid in restitution will be announced at a later date.
Three additional defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on January 15, 2019.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Human Trafficking|Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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