(The Center Square) – U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations agents continue to pursue justice for victims of human trafficking, child exploitation and prostitution. Their efforts have led to convictions and recent sentencing of perpetrators.
In California, a multiagency task force led by HSI San Diego agents led to a southern California man being sentenced to prison for 106 months for transporting teens for prostitution. He was convicted of transporting two teenagers from San Diego to Phoenix and El Paso, Texas, to prostitute them.
According to court records, Kenneth Tenorio, 54, of National City, committed crimes in multiple states that involved multiple victims, including juveniles. He “exploited women and children who had been removed from their homes and placed in the foster care system as part of his overall scheme to profit from their commercial sex work,” according to a report from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Tenorio pleaded guilty to transporting two victims from California to Arizona and Texas to offer them for commercial sex for his own financial gain. He used Megapersonals, a dating website often used to solicit prostitution, to post commercial sex advertisements featuring his victims. He also required them to give him a portion of the proceeds from engaging in commercial sex acts, according to the report. According to his plea agreement, he also sex trafficked a 15-year-old.
“Sex trafficking is a deplorable crime that impacts victims for a lifetime,” U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath said. “If you suspect someone is in an unsafe situation or they are being controlled by a ‘pimp,’ romantic partner, manager or employer, or anyone who monitors their movements, their spending and/or their communications, please report it to law enforcement. If we know about it, we can offer help.”
The investigation was led by HSI, the Chula Vista Police Department, and the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, a regional, multiagency effort led by the California Department of Justice dedicated to supporting survivors and holding traffickers accountable.
In Texas, HSI Corpus Christi investigators, U.S. Border Patrol agents and Cameron County Sheriff’s Office deputies helped convict a man on human smuggling and child exploitation-related offenses.
Paz Gomez-Magdaleno, a 43-year-old resident of Cameron County, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 60, 120 and 240 months for transporting illegal foreign nationals, possessing child pornography, and enticing a minor, respectively. He is also required to register as a sex offender and serve the rest of his life on supervised release upon release from prison, according to another ICE report.
He was caught after a K-9 unit at a Border Patrol checkpoint near Sarita, Texas, in Kenedy County, discovered 20 people being smuggled into the U.S. hidden inside of his tractor trailer. After obtaining search warrants for cellphones found inside, investigators discovered they contained child sexual abuse material and that Gomez had been engaging in numerous conversations with minors on different messaging apps.
The investigation found that he sought out minors to send him explicit photos and videos in exchange for money and gifts and that he possessed child sexual abuse material of relatives and minors from the local community.
January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, “a time to raise awareness and educate the public about how to identify and prevent this crime,” HSI says. “Indicators that someone is being trafficked include frequent running away; sudden separation or isolation from friends and loved ones; changes in behavior, appearance, and attire; new friend groups; unexplained new or multiple cell phones; and secrecy with phones and social media.”
Anyone suspecting a human trafficking or exploitation crime, is encouraged to contact HSI at 866-347-2423, their local police department or sheriff’s office or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888.
