Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 1, 2010

Key Member of International Human Trafficking Ring Sentenced to Twenty Years

Defendant Smuggled Women in from Mexico and Then Compelled Them Into Prostitution in Metro Atlanta

ATLANTA - Francisco Cortes-Meza, 26, of Mexico, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story in the Northern District of Georgia for sex trafficking in an organization that targeted young Mexican women.

Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, said, “This defendant preyed on vulnerable women who dreamed of a better life in the United States. Individuals who force women into prostitution commit a heinous crime that will not be tolerated. The Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable traffickers who seek to profit at the expense of the freedom, rights and dignity of others.â€