Thread: Two more arrested in human trafficking investigation

From March 2014. this illegal from Guatemala had been deported 7 times and was still accepted in the "community" Utah.

Two more arrested in human trafficking investigation

Published: Friday, March 7 2014

Summary
Two brothers of a man authorities say was masterminding a drug and human trafficking ring in Utah involving teenage boys, have been arrested.


SALT LAKE CITY — Two brothers of a man authorities say was masterminding a drug and human trafficking ring in Utah involving teenage boys, have been arrested.

Victor A. Rax Chun, 31, and Marcos Tot-Chun, 31, were both arrested by the Utah Attorney General’s SECURE Strike Force investigation team and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail. Victor Chun was arrested for investigation of witness tampering. Marco Tot-Chun was arrested for investigation of two counts of forgery.

The arrests targeted people who "sought to interfere with the investigation and prosecution" of Victor Rax, according to a statement from the Utah Attorney General's Office.

In February, the attorney general's office announced the arrest of Victor Manuel Rax, 42, of Guatemala, who had been living in Utah and allegedly trafficking teen boys for sexual purposes. Officials said he would target mainly undocumented Latinos, and then used fear to force them into sex and drug trafficking. Some boys were forced to engage in sexual activity or sell drugs in their high schools under threat of harm coming to them or their families, according to state investigators.

Rax was living with Chun at 1322 W. 500 South, according to a Salt Lake County Jail report. After Rax's arrest, authorities warned Chun not to speak to any of the witnesses, the report stated.

But in March, investigators recorded a phone call that Rax made to Chun from the Salt Lake County Jail who allegedly told him to, "speak with a witness and tell him not to appear in court," the report stated. When detectives picked up Chun the next day, he told them the witness had been at his house, the jail report stated.

During a search of the residence at 1322 W. 500 South, investigators also seized a Permanent Resident Card and a Social Security card in Tot-Chun's name, according to a jail report. When authorities questioned him about the documents, Tot-Chun said he, "purchased them for $80 from a taco cart when he arrived here years ago," jail records state.

Three boys have been identified as victims of sexual abuse by Rax, according to the attorney general's office. But investigators believe there are many more.

Rax's two brothers were believed to have come to Utah with him over a decade ago, according to the attorney general's office. Rax has reportedly served prison time in Guatemala and been deported from the U.S. seven times.

Rax was charged in 3rd District Court with three counts of drug distribution, which will keep him in custody until charges related to the sex and drug trafficking allegations can be filed, the AG's office stated.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/8...on.html?pg=all

Man charged in drug, human trafficking operation appears in court


SALT LAKE CITY — A man accused of coercing teenage boys into drug and human trafficking appeared in court Tuesday to face nearly three dozen criminal charges.

Victor Manuel Rax shuffled into court, his hair disheveled, and peered around the courtroom for the brief appearance before 3rd District Judge LA Dever. The 42-year-old man waived a reading of the charges against him, now totaling 34 felonies.

Initially charged with three drug-related counts, he was charged Monday with 31 additional charges, including aggravated human trafficking for forced labor involving a child, racketeering, and multiple counts of forcible sodomy on a child, aggravated sexual abuse of a child, child endangerment and object rape.

Rax is accused of trafficking teenage boys, mainly undocumented Latinos, for sexual purposes and then using fear to force them into sex and drug trafficking.

Rax would use money, gifts, food and drugs to groom his victims before abusing them, according to charging documents. Prosecutors list seven victims, some who were as young as 9 when the abuse began.

Each of the boys reported a similar pattern of being lured by offers of free alcohol and later drugs, being sexually abused and then threatened. The boys also told police they were afraid something would happen to them or their families if they tried to get away.

"One thing he used in the community was a lot of fear," Tony Yapias, director of Proyecto Latino de Utah, said of Rax. "He was able to get his victims young, was able to build trust with them (but) with that there was a lot of fear. He was using a lot of intimidation. ... Hopefully this will be the end of it."

Yapias said many of the alleged victims' parents didn't realize what was going on and many of them trusted Rax as a fellow adult who was referred to as "Tio" or "Uncle" in some communities. Yapias said he is confident the justice system will take Rax off of the streets for life.

Meantime, he said they are working to help the alleged victims.

"Lives have been shattered here," Yapias said. "The lives of kids have been shattered. I don't believe any of the victims have received any treatment. We're working with them to get them the help they need."

There was a large Bikers Against Child Abuse presence at the hearing Tuesday. One of the members, who identified himself as "Teddy Bear," said he was hopeful Rax would be kept from harming children in the future. "He's messing with our communities," he said. "These are our kids and we need to get him off the streets."

A scheduling conference is set for March 28 in the case.

Rax's two brothers are also facing criminal charges.

Marcos Tot-Chun, 31, was charged with two counts of forgery, a third-degree felony. Victor Alfredo Rax, 31, was charged with tampering with a witness and another of retaliation of a witness. Both counts are third-degree felonies.

After Victor Manuel Rax was arrested, Victor Alfredo Rax called one of the alleged victims in his brother's sex trafficking case and asked him to come to his house
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"At his home, he told (the victim) to not to testify against his brother, Victor Manuel Rax, that he would be taken care of financially if he did not appear and testify, but threatened that if he did testify against Victor Manuel Rax he would regret it," according to charging documents.

Tot-Chun was charged with having a Permanent Resident Card and a Social Security card in his name, both of which were fake, according to court documents. According to a Salt Lake County Jail report, Tot-Chun told investigators he "purchased them for $80 from a taco cart when he arrived here years ago."

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=29026080

Victor Rax found dead in his jail cell

04/29/2014 09:07 AM

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 Utah) - Officials from Salt Lake County Jail confirm that Victor Rax was found dead in his jail cell Monday night. Guards were doing a routine check and found him unresponsive. Investigators do not believe there was any foul play because Rax was alone in the jail cell at the time.


Here is more information on the background of Rax:

He was only 13-years old attending middle school when he first met Victor Rax.

“We met him walking through the park and he offered some stuff to us,” says Julio who doesn’t want his last name used.

That “stuff” he says was marijuana.

“We were just supposed to go and smoke marijuana and he put some other stuff in it, like cocaine,” he says.

Authorities say that’s the way Victor Rax started grooming young Latino boys to allegedly sell drugs.

“We always had to be with him after school until around midnight,” says Julio.

He says he would go to one of his four homes Salt Lake City's west side on a regular basis. He says at first it was the lure of drugs but then he learned there was a price to pay. It was sex for drugs.

“We would be by ourselves at his house,” he says. “We'd not have more than two of us at his house. He'd make us go in his room and he'd do stuff to us.

For the next four years Julio says he was trapped.

“I kind of felt ashamed to tell my parents of what was going on and with police we were just scared to go with them just because of the things he'd tell us,” he says.

And when his parents learned of Rax and tried to confront him Julio says they were forced to back down because Rax threatened to call immigration on the family.

“He never told me he'd kill me but after I found out he'd threatened my family I got scared and I didn't want my family to get hurt,” he says.

When Julio turned 17, he says Rax no longer was interested in him.

“I never saw him with older kids, adults or anybody,” he says. “I only seen him with older kids and once I was 17 or 18 he just left me alone. He never talked to me anymore.”

Rax is currently sitting in the Salt Lake metro jail after multiple felony charges connected to human trafficking, sex abuse and drugs were filed against him.

“Now that I know he's in jail I feel great that he's in there,” says Julio. “I'm happy for other kids who were worse than me.”

http://www.good4utah.com/story/d/story/victor-rax-found-dead-in-his-jail-cell/84969/-hDyL1dbd0yU90bCioSzfA

Bush family friends? More "acts of love?" More "immigrants good for the nation?"