Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Javier Miguel Ramirez, age 35, of Hyattsville, Maryland, today to 87 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for sex trafficking of a minor girl, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Grace Chung Becker. Judge Chasanow also ordered Ramirez, a Mexican national, to register as a sex offender in any state in which he resides, works or attends school.

“Javier Miguel Ramirez committed a depraved and morally reprehensible crime by using a 14 year old foreign girl as a prostitute and sex slave,” said United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “I want to commend the local police, federal agents and prosecutors for recognizing the importance of this case and ensuring that justice was done.”

"Few crimes are more repugnant than sex trafficking a helpless and innocent girl," said James A. Dinkins, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Baltimore. "ICE will continue to aggressively investigate those who victimize children, and will work in partnership with the U.S. Attorney's Office to protect our communities from the threats and vulnerabilities posed by criminal organizations engaged in human trafficking."

According to his plea agreement, from August 2005 through June 2006, a Mexican national girl worked for Ramirez as a prostitute. Ramirez knew that the girl was only 14 years old when she began working for him. Ramirez instructed her to lie and tell clients that she was 20 years old. Upon receiving requests for sex from clients by phone, Ramirez caused the girl to be transported to residences in Maryland and Virginia to engage in sex. He instructed the girl to charge clients $25 or $30 per 15 minutes of sex. She was instructed to meet with 25 clients or more per day, and provided most of the money that she made to Ramirez.

During this time, the girl was dependent on Ramirez for housing, food, clothing and other incidentals. He often housed her in his residence. Ramirez also initiated a sexual relationship with the girl.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Grace Chung Becker and United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Hyattsville Police Department for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein commended Trial Attorney Karima Maloney of the Criminal Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant United States Attorney Steven M. Dunne, who are prosecuting the case.