VIRGINIA, USA — Editor's note: The video above is from a separate story that aired on May 17, 2019.
A jury convicted seven MS-13 gang members and associates on charges of sex trafficking a minor under the age of 14 and other child sexual offenses.
According to an FBI affidavit, back in 2018, a 13-year-old girl ran away from a youth home in Fairfax. After she ran away, she somehow got introduced to some members of the MS-13 gang.
From the court documents, members of the gang told her they would be her family and protect her if she joined the gang. Gang members then beat the victim 26 times with a baseball bat as part of a gang initiation.
Gang members then used her for sex trafficking in Virginia and Maryland using the currency of cash and drugs, in one instance while in Virginia, men lined up to have sex with the victim in a wooded area behind two of the defendants’ apartment complex, according to court records.
She was also harbored in various apartments in Northern Virginia where men paid her and her handlers cash for sex.
Even after she was already beaten, she was later beaten again with a bat 26 times as a form of gang punishment. The 13-year-old girl was transported to Maryland, where she was sold to numerous gang members and other customers in exchange for cash and drugs, including cocaine, per court records.
She was sex trafficked for nearly two months in that year before she was recovered by the bureau's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking task force. The trafficking occurred in Woodridge, Virginia, and Mount Rainier, Maryland.
Police found and recovered photographs and videos of the victim being sexually exploited, along with numerous social media messages regarding the trafficking and sexual exploitation of her.
Below is a list of individuals convicted and their charges:
Each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years with a maximum penalty of life in prison. Their sentencing dates are currently set for Nov. 10.
The seven defendants — six men and a woman — lived in suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia and ranged in age from 22 to 50.
Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police; and Peter Newsham, Chief of Prince William County Police, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga accepted the verdict.
The U.S. Attorney's Officer for the Eastern District of Virginia, which prosecuted the case, announced the jury verdict Friday,
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maureen Cain, Seth Schlessinger, and Zoe Bedell are prosecuting the case.
This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The task force is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia.
The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking.