Two Men Plead Guilty to Child Sex Trafficking Offenses

Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and David Sundberg, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that JOEL LINDSAY, also known as “Joey Guapo,” 23, and JOSEPH PINA, 24, both of East Hartford, have pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court to offenses related to the sex trafficking of a minor.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in October 2019, Lindsay and Pina recruited, enticed and transported a minor victim to engage in commercial sex acts.  Specifically, on October 17, 2019, Lindsay, Pina and another individual picked up the minor victim and took her to a hotel in East Windsor. At the hotel, they took photographs of the minor victim and posting her photos on a website and advertised her sexual services.  Lindsay and Pina than arranged prostitution appointments for the minor victim.  On that night, the minor victim earned at least $100 from prostitution appointments, all of which she gave to Lindsay.

On October 18, 2019, Lindsay and Pina posted more advertisements on the same web site and arranged prostitution appointments for the minor victim at a hotel in Windsor Locks.  The following two days, Lindsay and Pina posted additional advertisements on the website and the minor victim saw prostitution customers each day.  The victim again gave all of the money earned through these appointments to Lindsay.

The investigation further revealed that Lindsay and Pina engaged in sexual activity with the minor victim, even though they knew that she was under the age of 18.

Lindsay pleaded guilty today to one count of sex trafficking of a minor, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.  He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on January 12, 2022.  Lindsay, a citizen of Jamaica, has been detained since arrest on August 20, 2020.

On October 6, 2021, Pina pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor, and offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of life.  He is released on a $100,000 bond while awaiting sentencing, which is scheduled for January 19, 2022.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Angel M. Krull.