News Releases and Statements

Deundrea R. Miller, the second and final defendant in a child sex-trafficking case, was sentenced Tuesday to more than 10 years in federal prison.

Four members of a virtual kidnapping ring based in Tijuana and Southern California have been indicted on federal charges for allegedly extorting Latino families across the United States, falsely claiming a family member had been kidnapped and demanding thousands of dollars in ransom.

Andrew Blane Fields, 62, of Lutz, faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a statutory maximum of life in prison on each of the 5 sex trafficking convictions.

From October 2012 to December 2012, Tarran Arnel Brinson conspired, attempted to recruit, and recruited, enticed, transported, provided, and obtained girls under of 18 years of age knowing the teenage girls would be caused to engage in commercial sex acts.

A Mexican man, Diego DeLeon Chavez, has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison for his role in a July 2012 human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in the death of two Guatemalans in a northern Arizona vehicle accident.

MSNBC will feature a high-profile case, Oct. 27 at 10 p.m. (EST), with which ICE's HSI was heavily involved. The one-hour special, titled "Sex Slaves: Branded" will break down the arrest and conviction of Alex Campbell.

The leader of a human smuggling organization and five others were sentenced to federal prison Friday for their roles in a conspiracy to transport or harbor aliens illegally present in the country.

Brittanie S. Brattain, 22, was sentenced Oct. 15 to 72 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means. Brattain's co-defendant, Deundrea R. Miller, 27, also pleaded guilty in June to the same offense and is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 12.

Representatives from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, including ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), helped the Florida Attorney General's Office unveil a new human trafficking awareness campaign Friday in Hillsborough County.

The last two of 23 men and women accused in a Savannah-based sex trafficking organization pleaded guilty Tuesday. Joaquin Mendez-Hernandez, the leader of the organization which operated in Savannah, other parts of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Mexico, pleaded guilty Sept. 17.

According to court documents, between October 2012 and April 2013, Deshawn King, 33, and Daniel Blount, 31, both of Allentown, recruited and enticed heroin-addicted women to perform commercial sex acts at their direction by promising a continuous supply of money and heroin.

The production of 'Too Close To Home,' continues a long tradition of WEDU programs that address important issues facing our community.

Kevin Garcia Fuertes aka Kerlin Esquivel-Feuntes, 26, illegally residing in Annapolis and Richmond, Va., was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles Jr. to 235 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Judge Quarles further imposed a special condition that upon the completion of his sentence, that Fuertes must cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding deportation proceedings.

Jose Alberto Izquierdo-Gonzalez appeared before Senior U.S. District Judge George P. Kazen who sentenced him to 98 months in federal prison.

U.S. and Mexican government agencies came together to host a human trafficking training conference for judges, prosecutors, forensic specialists, psychologists and researchers Aug. 19 to 23 in Guadalajara.

Jacobo Feliciano-Francisco was arraigned in federal court Monday on charges related to kidnapping, retaliating against a witness and transporting an individual across state lines to engage in prostitution. The case was investigated by the FBI and ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Mystery, intrigue and suspense are just some of the things that viewers can expect from Lifetime's new two-hour made-for-TV original movie "Baby Sellers," set to air Aug. 17, at 8 p.m. EST. In the movie, U.S. ICE Special Agent Nic Morrison stumbles upon an international human trafficking ring specializing in selling infants.

An Illinois woman was arrested Monday in Las Vegas after being charged in a superseding 12-count indictment, along with a Maryland man, for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking where the pair allegedly used guns, threats and violence to force victims into prostitution.

Occasionally, they serviced as many as 40 or more johns in a single day.

Napoleon Long, Jr., 27, of Fridley, Minn., pleaded guilty to transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

A federal jury convicted Kizzy Kalu Monday of 89 counts of mail fraud, visa fraud, human trafficking and money laundering, in a scheme involving foreign nationals that worked for nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

Carlos Alejandrez, the fifth and final defendant in a human smuggling and harboring case, was sentenced Thursday to more than eight years in prison.

Jose Ricardo Urias Hernandez, a man from El Salvador who is wanted in his home country for human trafficking, was deported and turned over to Salvadoran law enforcement authorities Monday by officers with ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO).

Ralph Allen Jackson Jr., a Long Beach man who allegedly forced a 17-year-old girl to work as a prostitute, has been named in a federal criminal complaint that charges him with child sex trafficking.

From 2009 to July 2012, Angel Campos Tellez was a leader of a network that transported women to engage in commercial sex acts in Manassas, Woodbridge, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Newport News, Baltimore and Delaware.