Springfield Man Accused of Trafficking Minors for MS-13


Rances Ulices Amaya was called "Murder" or "Blue," and sometimes carried a machete, according to prosecutors


By Will Sommer
October 26, 2011

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The FBI has accused a Springfield man of trafficking at least four underage girls in his position as an MS-13 gang leader.

Rances Ulices Amaya, a 23-year-old who went by the nicknames "Murder" and Blue", according to the United States Attorney's Office, was arrested yesterday on charges of turning underage female runaways into prostitutes.

He has been charged with sex trafficking of a minor, a charge that carries a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison if Amaya is convicted.

Amaya was allegedly the leader of the Guanacos Lokotes Salvatrucha section of MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, a Salvadoran street gang. He allegedly helped another member of the gang in the spring of 2010 with running a business using underage prostitutes. Amaya's alleged duties consisted of finding new clients and offering protection at appointments, sometimes by carrying a machete.

If the girls in the business refused to have sex, Amaya would allegedly threaten and assault them, according to prosecutors. He would allegedly sometimes have sex with the girls themselves, sometimes sleeping with multiple girls in one day. Amaya also allegedly told at least one girl not to tell a client her true age.

Amaya trafficked underage girls throughout Alexandria, Fairfax County, Woodbridge, and Falls Church, according to the complaint against him.

In his role as a leader of his MS-13 section, Amaya would allegedly collect dues from other gang members. He would use some of the money to buy drugs and guns for the gang, while also sending funds back to MS-13 members in El Salvador, according to the complaint.

In June, another alleged MS-13 member sentenced to ten years in prison for trafficking underage girls for sex. In August, two men who allegedly raped a teen girl in Springfield flashed MS-13 gang signs, according to a detective.

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