2 Maryland men convicted of sex trafficking
BALTIMORE — A Maryland brothel ringleader and operator were convicted by a federal jury earlier today on sex trafficking charges following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Annapolis Police Department and the Easton Police Department.
A federal jury convicted German de Jesus Ventura, 35, a citizen of El Salvador living unlawfully in the country and residing in Capitol Heights, Md., of conspiring to transport and entice females to travel interstate for prostitution; transporting females for prostitution; enticing females to travel interstate for prostitution; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; and possessing a gun in furtherance of sex trafficking.
The jury also convicted co-defendant Kevin Garcia Fuertes, aka Kerlin Esquivel-Feuntes, 25, a citizen of Honduras living unlawfully in the country and residing in Annapolis and Richmond, Va., of the conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.
"Today's conviction represents another successful HSI investigation worked jointly with our local law enforcement partners that led to the breakup of a prostitution scheme uncovered in Maryland," said HSI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge William Winter. "The defendants not only exploited women for personal profit, they also used violence, coercion and intimidation. HSI will continue to use its resources and work closely with other law enforcement agencies to stop these types of criminal enterprises that are operating in our communities."
According to evidence presented during the two-week trial, since at least March 2008 through November 2010, Ventura and Fuertes ran brothels in Annapolis and Easton. Ventura, the ringleader, employed Fuertes to advertise and manage the brothels, and the two men shared the cash proceeds of the prostitution business.
The defendants recruited and employed prostitutes, many of whom were unlawfully in the United States. Ventura arranged for vans and other vehicles to transport females within Maryland and across state lines to engage in prostitution.
Ventura assaulted and threatened to use violence against one prostitute to coerce her continued participation in prostitution, from which Fuertes financially benefitted.
Ventura and Fuertes also threatened to use violence against competitor pimps. On Aug. 3, 2010, Ventura used a cell phone to send three threatening multi-media messages depicting a semi-automatic pistol, the pistol's magazine and an angel of death statue to a competitor pimp.
On Nov. 3, 2010, Ventura arranged for the assault of a competitor pimp with a pistol grip shotgun. In addition to these threats, Ventura reported criminal activity of the pimps in order to divert the attention of law enforcement and facilitate his own prostitution activities.
On March 13, 2010, Ventura falsely reported a kidnaping and rape to the police in order to falsely implicate another pimp with the crimes. Ventura also claimed responsibility for the murder of competitor pimp Ricardo Ramirez Riva on Sept. 13, 2008, in order to intimidate the competition, as well as his own employees and prostitutes.
Ventura also sought to intimidate members of the community who assisted his prostitutes. On Sept. 1, 2009, Ventura called and threatened to kill a family who provided temporary housing to one of his prostitutes after she was arrested. He also poured gasoline on their apartment door and smashed windows from their vehicle.
On July 7, 2010, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the brothel located at 318 E. Dover Street in Easton and arrested Isidro Jimenez-Sanchez and Wibert Herrera-Aranda, who were working at the brothel.
Ventura and Fuentes face up to five years in prison for the conspiracy count and 15 years to life in prison for the sex trafficking count. In addition, Ventura faces life in prison for possessing a gun in furtherance of sex trafficking and 10 years in prison for the transporting individuals to engage in prostitution and enticement counts. U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles Jr. scheduled sentencing for July 24 at 1 p.m.
Jose Antonio Reyes-Maradiaga, 30, Isidro Jimenez-Sanchez and Wibert Alejandro Herrera-Aranda, both 34, all of Easton, previously pleaded guilty to their participation in the scheme. These defendants advertised Ventura's brothels, made appointments for the prostitutes and collected money.
Reyes also helped to transport the women to the brothel locations and purchased supplies. Jimenez-Sanchez, a Mexican citizen unlawfully in the United States, was sentenced to a year and day for transporting prostitutes and upon completion of his sentence, ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) deported him from the United States to Mexico.
Herrera-Aranda was sentenced to 18 months in prison and Reyes was sentenced to time served. Both were also deported by ERO.
This case originated with the Annapolis Police Department and was subsequently investigated by members of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force formed in 2007 to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders. Members include federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as victim service providers and local community members.
For more information about the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/human-trafficking.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys P. Michael Cunningham and Rachel M. Yasser.
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