Authorities Bust Alleged Illegal Alien Sex Ring

A good number of these "brothels" service other illegals.
Authorities Bust Alleged Illegal Alien Sex Ring

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by RYAN SAAVEDRA
26 May 2017
West Palm Beach, FL

Investigators said the trafficked women – who were shipped in from Central and South America – were forced to have sex with over 100 men per week.

Joel Gomez-Chilel, 35, and Byron Estrada, 28, both of Guatemala, were arrested on Friday on human trafficking charges in Palm Beach County, the Palm Beach Post reported.

Authorities believe that Gomez-Chilel was an enforcer who oversaw security and collected the money earned by the women, while Estrada managed one of the brothels connected to the prostitution ring.

In a statement to Breitbart Texas, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said, “ICE lodged a detainer on Joel Gomez-Chilel and Byron Estrada, both citizens of Guatemala, with the Palm Beach County Jail after they were arrested on local charges.”

A third man, Miguel Angel Alvarez Maradiaga, 31, purportedly of Honduras, was previously arrested in the case on May 6 for sex trafficking and prostitution-related charges.

“Authorities say Maradiaga, 31, has been running the prostitution business since taking it over about four years ago when his brother was deported to their native [country of] Honduras on prostitution-related charges,” the Palm Beach Post noted.

As the suspected ring leader, Maradiaga had numerous other men under his control that he used to help sell the sexual services of the women who investigators said were from Colombia, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and Honduras.

Investigators indicated that many of the women sold into prostitution were forced to have sex with more than 100 men a week, in 15-minute sessions.

If the women were unable to perform the services demanded of them, the traffickers then forced them into other roles that served to their benefit:

One woman said she was forced to work at brothels ran by Maradiaga and his family until she became pregnant. Maradiaga refused to allow the woman to receive medical care and forced her to work as a “house mom,” collecting money and forcing other women to keep working.

Breitbart Texas reported on Tuesday that a 34-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico was charged with human trafficking, sexual battery, and lewd and lascivious molestation after he allegedly had sex with a 12-year-old and tried to get her and her friends to become prostitutes.

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/...lien-sex-ring/

LATEST: Prostitution ring busted; three face human-trafficking charges

• Julius Whigham II
• Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

8:25 a.m. Wednesday, May 24, 2017


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Maradiaga (left), Gomez-Chilel, and Estrada (right)

LAKE WORTH

At trailer homes in suburban Lake Worth and in Martin County, Miguel Angel Alvarez Maradiaga oversaw the family business — brothels and prostitution houses, authorities said.

With various men working under his command, Maradiaga sold the sexual services of women brought to South Florida from the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and other countries from Central and South America, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said.

With the help of Martin County authorities, at least four men were arrested in one of the area’s most extensive investigations to date into human trafficking, which some have called modern-day slavery.

Authorities say Maradiaga, 31, has been running the prostitution business since taking it over about four years ago when his brother was deported to their native Honduras on prostitution-related charges. He has been in custody at the Martin County Jail since May 6, when deputies arrested him on charges of deriving support from prostitution, maintaining a house of prostitution and offering another for prostitution.

Martin County investigators also arrested Walter Godoy, 42, on similar charges May 5.

On Friday, Palm Beach County investigators charged two Palm Springs men whom they say worked for Maradiaga with human trafficking and other charges. Investigators say Byron Estrada, 28, oversaw one of the brothels and occasionally provided security Joel Gomez-Chilel, 36, provided security and collected money from various men who sought sexual services at brothels in suburban Lake Worth, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office arrest report made public Tuesday.

Estrada and Gomez-Chilel are at the least the ninth and 10th men in Palm Beach County this year to be charged with human trafficking. Authorities say human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to control another person for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts, labor or other services.

It was not clear late Tuesday whether Maradiaga would face charges in Palm Beach County or be charged with human trafficking.

Investigators say multiple women were sold into prostitution — to more than 100 men a week — at homes on Davis Road in suburban Lake Worth, Urqurhart Street in Lake Worth and Southwest 169th Avenue in Indiantown. A confidential source also told investigators of prostitution activity at residences at 10th Avenue North and Congress Avenue, at Lake Worth Road and Military Trail and at an address along Indiantown Road in the Jupiter area, according to the affidavit.

Authorities allege that Maradiaga distributed business cards to men in Hispanic communities advertising clothing for men of all sizes. The reverse side of the card included the address of at least one of the brothels, the sheriff’s office said.

How to spot human trafficking victims? County workers will learn

One woman told investigators that women would be flown into Fort Lauderdale from Puerto Rico and picked up at a train station in Lake Worth, under the Interstate 95 overpass. The report does not specify the ages of the women, or say whether any were juveniles.

One woman said she was forced to work at brothels ran by Maradiaga and his family until she became pregnant. Maradiaga refused to allow the woman to receive medical care and forced her to work as a “house mom,” collecting money and forcing other women to keep working.

Another woman told investigators the houses typically had one or two women available at a time, with men paying for 15-minute sessions.

SEE ANYTHING SUSPICIOUS?

Advocates point to several signs that a person may be a victim of human trafficking. They include:

• Signs of poor health.
• Signs of physical abuse or restraint.
• Lack of control over personal documents.
• A person denying them the ability to speak for themselves.

Anyone who sees a person they think may be a victim of human trafficking can call one of two telephone numbers:

• Palm Beach County Human Trafficking Hotline, 561-598-9848
• National Human Trafficking Hotline, 888-373-7888

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/cr...SAhdpRb3dnD8N/