Providence resident indicted for allegedly sex trafficking 14 year-old girl

PROVIDENCE – In an indictment unsealed Wednesday, a Providence man has been charged in U.S. District Court with the sex trafficking of a minor. The arrest resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) with the assistance of the Rhode Island State Police, and Franklin Township Police.

Paul J. Monteiro, aka “Peezy,” 29, of Providence, received a three-count indictment charging alleged transportation of a 14-year-old Rhode Island girl to New Jersey for the purpose of engaging in commercial sexual activity. It is also alleged that Monteiro enticed the minor female to engage in sexually explicit conduct which was video recorded.

Monteiro and the minor female were encountered at a hotel room in Franklin Township, New Jersey, on April 6, 2015, by agents and officers from HSI, the FBI and Franklin Township police. Monteiro was detained by Franklin Township police. The victim, who had been reported missing from a group home in Rhode Island in November 2014, was returned to Rhode Island.

According to court documents, on March 23, Rhode Island State Police detectives received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a juvenile female from Rhode Island had allegedly been sexually molested by an adult male she met on Facebook and that the young teen was afraid to end the relationship due to threats of bodily harm.

According to court documents, an investigation by Rhode Island State Police identified the victim of the alleged sexual molestation as being the 14-year-old Rhode Island girl who was reported missing from a group home in Rhode Island on Nov. 20, 2014. A Facebook friend of the missing girl told State Police that the girl had communicated to her that she had traveled to New Jersey with an individual identified as “Peezy.”

According to court documents, on April 6, 2015, Rhode Island State Police tracked a cell phone in the possession of the missing teenager to Franklin Township, New Jersey. Agents from HSI and the FBI, and police officers from Franklin Township located the missing girl and Paul Monteiro in a hotel room in Franklin Township.

Monteiro was arrested by Franklin Township police on New Jersey state charges and detained. A court authorized search of a cell phone belonging to Monteiro resulted in the discovery of a video of Monteiro allegedly involved in a sex act with the 14-year-old girl.

While speaking with the girl, an HSI agent located a Backpage.com advertisement depicting the young girl and a solicitation for male companionship. The girl later confirmed that she was the person in the picture and that Monteiro allegedly arranged for her to participate in sex acts with at least two individuals who responded to the advertisement.

A federal criminal complaint charging Monteiro with sex trafficking of a child and transporting a child with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity was issued in Rhode Island on May 1, 2015. Monteiro was returned to Rhode Island and appeared in federal court on May 29, 2015, and was ordered detained in federal.

Sex trafficking of a minor to engage in a commercial sexual activity and interstate transportation of a minor with the intent that the minor participate in acts of prostitution is punishable by statutory penalties of up to life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000. Sexual exploitation of a child is punishable by statutory penalty of 15 to 30 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Pamela E. Chin.

The details contained in the charges are allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.