Illegal alien from El Salvador charged in Kentucky child sex trafficking ring

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — An illegal alien from El Salvador was charged Wednesday for child sex trafficking in four Kentucky counties, announced David J. Hale, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky. The indictment resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Kentucky State Police.

Adulfo De Aquino-Cancino, 28, is charged with the following crimes: conspiring to recruit, entice, harbor and transport two juveniles to engage in commercial sex acts; aiding and abetting in sex trafficking juveniles; and attempting to persuade, induce, entice and coerce a juvenile to engage in prostitution. De Aquino-Cancino was indicted May 16 by a grand jury in Bowling Green.

According to an affidavit filed by an HSI special agent, between August 2011 and January 2012, De Aquino-Cancino recruited females and arranged for commercial sexual encounters; he transported them, and benefited financially from commercial sex transactions involving two minor females and several adult females in Green, Taylor, Adair and Barren counties in the Western District of Kentucky.

On Jan.19, De Aquino-Cancino was interviewed by a Kentucky State Police detective. De Aquino-Cancino allegedly stated that he knew several girls in the Campbellsville, Ky., area who were prostitutes. He further stated that he travelled to Campbellsville, picked up the prostitutes, and took them to different locations where they performed commercial sex acts with the defendant's friends. The prostitutes in turn paid De Aquino-Cancino for driving them to the locations. De Aquino-Cancino allegedly identified the two juveniles and affirmed that he knew what he was doing with these young girls was illegal. Following this interview, De Aquino-Cancino was arrested by Kentucky State Police.

If convicted, De Aquino-Cancino faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a maximum of life in prison, a $500,000 fine, and up to a lifetime of supervised release.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua D. Judd, Western District of Kentucky, is prosecuting the case. A grand jury indictment is an accusation only; the accused is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.