Sex-trafficking Ringleaders Convicted In East Whiteland Township

WEST CHESTER, PA — A Chester County jury Friday night convicted two men of running a widespread sex-trafficking ring in East Whiteland Township.

Dimas “Adonys,” Hernandez, 36, of Malvern, and Franklin "Mono" Rivera-Mendieta, 27, of Downingtown, were found guilty of keeping the underage women captive for sex in apartments on Lancaster Avenue in East Whiteland Township.

A third co-defendant, 25-year-old Josue Sibrian-Sanchez, “Sibrian,” of Malvern, pleaded guilty to his role in the operation.

Sibrian-Sanchez served as a doorman and collected money from individuals who paid to have sex, according to court records.

All three defendants are in Chester County Prison awaiting sentencing.

The verdict followed a weeklong trial before Chester County Judge Alita Rovito.

After the verdict was announced, Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said the two defendants trapped these vulnerable victims in a cycle of sexual abuse for the purpose of lining their pockets with money.

“This kind of human degradation is deplorable," Ryan said in a prepared statement available Saturday. "Both victims displayed tremendous courage in escaping from their captors and telling authorities what they had endured.”

The two were found guilty on charges of involuntary servitude, trafficking minors, rape and related charges.

Attorneys for the defendants argued that the women were not held against their will.

The victims are not identified in accordance with state law.

According to court records:

• On May 28, 2020, East Whiteland police were contacted by the Fairfax Virginia Sheriff’s Office about a missing 14-year-old child, whose mother reported receiving a Facebook message from her daughter that said she “didn’t want to be here anymore.”

• The 14-year-old asked her mother to pick her up at a Wawa on Lancaster Avenue in East Whiteland.
• The child then told police that she recruited by a woman named "Tiny" at a party in Washington D.C.
• The 14-year-old said was taken a Walmart to buy “sexy clothes” for a photograph advertising the child for sex.

• The child told police that she was forced to have sex for money with multiple people each day at three locations in Chester County.
• A second victim, an 18-year-old from Virginia, told police that was promised a job in a bar, but instead was brought to East Whiteland to have sex for money.
• The 18-year-old said she was forced to ingest drugs, and sexually assaulted and threatened by Hernandez.
• She told investigators that she escaped after being held for three weeks in February and March 2020.

Anywho who suspects a child is being abused, call childline at 1-800-932-0313.

Contact County Coordinator Katie Walters at kwalters@chesco.org or 610-344-6115 for more information.