Crime & Safety
7 MS-13 Gang Members Convicted Of Sex Trafficking Virginia Girl
According to an FBI affidavit, the girl ran away from a youth home in Fairfax in 2018. She was then trafficked in Virginia and Maryland.
FAIRFAX CITY, VA — A jury convicted seven MS-13 gang members and associates Friday on sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation charges of a minor, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.
According to court records, in August 2018, a 13-year-old girl ran away from Shelter Care, a court-ordered, group home in Fairfax for children under age 18.
Shortly after running away, federal authorities said the victim was introduced to MS-13 members who told her they would be her family and protect her if she joined the gang.
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As part of a gang initiation, MS-13 members then beat the victim 26 times with a baseball bat. They then sex trafficked her in Virginia and Maryland using cash and drugs as currency, FBI agents said.
In one instance while in Virginia, the FBI said men lined up to have sex with the victim in a wooded area behind two of the defendants’ apartment complex. She was also harbored in various apartments in the state where men paid her and her handlers cash for sex.
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According to the FBI, the victim was later beaten again with a bat 26 times as a form of gang punishment. Shortly after the second bat beating, the victim was transported to Maryland, where she was sold to numerous gang members and other customers in exchange for cash and drugs, including cocaine.
Law enforcement said they recovered photographs, social media messages and videos of the victim being sexually exploited.
Below is a list of convicted and their charges:
| Name, Age | Hometown | Charges of Conviction |
| Moises Zeyala-Veliz, 26 | Woodbridge, VA | Sex trafficking a minor under the age of 14; Conspiracy to sex traffic a minor under the age of 14; Conspiracy to transport a minor across state lines for purposes of illegal sexual activity |
| Jose Eliezar Molina-Veliz, 22 | Woodbridge, VA | Sex trafficking a minor under the age of 14; Conspiracy to sex traffic a minor under the age of 14; Conspiracy to transport a minor across state lines for purposes of illegal sexual activity |
| Santos Ernesto Gutierrez Castro, 22 | Woodbridge, VA | Sex trafficking a minor under the age of 14; Conspiracy to sex traffic a minor under the age of 14; Conspiracy to transport a minor across state lines for purposes of illegal sexual activity |
| Luis Alberto Gonzales, 33 | Greenbelt, MD | Sex trafficking a minor under the age of 14 and via force, fraud, and coercion; Conspiracy to sex traffic a minor under the age of 14; Conspiracy to transport a minor across state lines for purposes of illegal sexual activity |
| Reina Elizabeth Hernandez, 50 | Hyattsville, MD | Sex trafficking a minor under the age of 14 |
| Gilberto Morales, 34 | Hyattsville, MD | Sex trafficking a minor under the age of 14; Conspiracy to sex traffic a minor under the age of 14 |
| Jonathan Rafael Zeyala-Veliz, 26 | Hyattsville, MD | Sex trafficking a minor under the age of 14; Conspiracy to sex traffic a minor under the age of 14; Conspiracy to transport a minor across state lines for purposes of illegal sexual activity |
Federal prosecutors said each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison with a maximum penalty of life in prison. Their sentencing dates are set for Nov. 10.
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