“Pimp” and “John” Receive Lengthy Federal Prison Sentences

DALLAS — Luis Rivera, 19, of Irving, Texas, was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 188 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in October 2015 to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Last month, Rivera’s co-defendant, Brady Rodriguez-Cruz, a/k/a Marcos Antonio Rodriguez-Mejia, 33, also of Irving, was sentenced by Judge Boyle to 293 months in federal prison.  He was convicted at trial in November 2015 on one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children, and he pleaded guilty before trial to one count of possession of counterfeit documents. 

In the conspiracy, Rodriguez-Cruz acted as the “john,” and Rivera acted as the “pimp.”  From approximately December 23, 2014, through December 25, 2014, Rodriguez-Cruz and Rivera agreed to cause Jane Doe, a 12-year-old child, to engage in a commercial sex act.

Rivera met Jane Doe, along with three other minor females, in Irving.  Shortly after he met the minor females, Rivera learned that Jane Doe was 12-years-old.  Rivera and his friends, including one minor friend, took the four minor females to an empty apartment in Irving, where they stayed overnight.  The minor females had no money, so they were not able to eat that day.

The next day, the group left the abandoned apartment and went to Rivera’s minor friend’s apartment, and Rivera told the four minor females that they needed to engage in commercial sex acts to earn money for food.  Rivera then made several phone calls seeking potential commercial sex customers for the minor females.  He planned to charge $100 for sexual intercourse with one of the minors.  Rivera reached Rodriguez-Cruz and Rodriguez-Cruz agreed to come to the location to engage in a commercial sex act.  Rodriguez-Cruz brought another man with him to the apartment.  Rivera told the four minor females to line up so the men could select who they wanted to have sex with, and Rodriguez-Cruz selected the youngest girl, 12-year-old Jane Doe.  Rodriguez-Cruz then negotiated the price for sex with a girl down to $50.  Shortly thereafter, he engaged in commercial sex acts with Jane Doe, paid Rivera and his minor male friend approximately $50, and hastily left.  A portion of that money was then used to buy some fast food for the minor girls. 

Additionally, on August 28, 2015, when officers with the Irving Police Department executed a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Rodriguez-Cruz, they found him in possession of an unlawfully obtained, counterfeit U.S. Permanent residence card.  That card was issued in another name but bore Rodriguez-Cruz’s photograph.

The Irving Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), both members of the North Texas Trafficking Taskforce, investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cara Foos Pierce and John Kull prosecuted.

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