Memphis Man Pleads Guilty to Forcing Two Juveniles into Prostitution

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Department of Justice
yesterday announced that Juan Mendez pleaded guilty to two counts of
commercial sex trafficking. Mendez admitted to providing two juvenile girls to
engage in commercial sex acts knowing that force, fraud and coercion had been
used. Eight other defendants have pleaded guilty in this same case for crimes
including child sex trafficking, conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens,
conspiracy to commit money laundering, enticing an individual to travel in
interstate commerce to commit prostitution, and failure to file a factual
statement about an alien. Mendez could be sentenced to life imprisonment. A
sentencing date has been set for June 19, 2007. Mendez is in the custody of
U.S. Marshals.
At his plea hearing, Mendez admitted that he knew both victims were
juveniles and were lured into the United States under false pretenses
believing they would be restaurant workers. He then prostituted them at
brothels in Memphis and Nashville, Tenn.
"The victims in this case were children thrust into the brutal and
demeaning world of human trafficking; they were fed lies, and treated as
modern-day slaves," said Grace Chung Becker, Acting Assistant Attorney General
for the Civil Rights Division. "The Justice Department is committed to the
vigorous enforcement and prosecution of human trafficking offenses."
"Those engaged in human trafficking prey on innocent victims, which has an
enduring and everlasting effect on their lives," said David Kustoff, U.S.
Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. "As a top priority, the
Department of Justice will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute
these cases."
Human trafficking prosecutions such as this one are a top priority of the
Department of Justice. In the last seven fiscal years, the Civil Rights
Division, in conjunction with the U.S. Attorneys Offices, has increased by
nearly seven-fold the number of human trafficking cases filed in court as
compared to the previous seven fiscal years. In FY 2007, the Department
obtained a record number of convictions in human trafficking prosecutions.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Parker of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the
Western District of Tennessee and Trial Attorney Jonathan Skrmetti from the
Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice are prosecuting the case.
The investigation in this matter is being conducted by Memphis FBI Agent
Tracey Harris and Memphis U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Greg
Sweargin, along with ICE agents in Nashville, the Memphis Police Department,
and the Nashville Police Department. World Relief Catholic Charities, the
Salvation Army, and the YWCA have assisted the victims and witnesses in this
matter.
SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

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