Gaithersburg Man Sentenced To 30 Years In Child Sex Trafficking Case

GAITHERSBURG, MD — A Gaithersburg man was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual abuse of a minor and second-degree rape.

Francisco Barahona, 46, was serving a 10-year sentence for federal drug trafficking charges when the victim in the case came forward in 2019 to police to report rape and sex trafficking she endured for years at the hands of the defendant, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Barahona’s sentencing hearing was held on Feb, 23. Barahona pleaded guilty on Oct. 16, 2023, to the charges.

“This sentence reflects the heinous exploitation of a child at the hands of many individuals because of the actions of the defendant,” State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in a statement Thursday.

On Feb. 23, a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge sentenced Barahona to 45 years in prison suspend all but 30 years to serve and five years of supervised probation upon release.

Upon completion of his federal sentence, Barahona was transferred to Montgomery County to face the charges in this case in which the victim reported she was trafficked by a relative of Barahona’s from Guatemala across the border of Mexico into Texas where she was detained by United States Border Patrol.

Barahona posed as her family member and coordinated her flight to Dulles International Airport in June 2010. The victim was 14 years old at the time, according to the charging documents.

Upon arrival at his residence in Montgomery County, Barahona told the victim that she would have to work for him in order to pay back for the flight and the “coyote” who had taken her across the U.S. border.

Barahona forced the victim to have sex with men for money in order to pay back the money she owed. He also forced her to live with him in his bedroom and regularly have sexual intercourse with him, according to the charging documents.

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