Albuquerque Man Arrested on Federal Sex Trafficking Charges

ALBUQUERQUE – Shane Roach, 25, of Albuquerque, N.M., appeared in federal court this morning on a criminal complaint charging him with sex trafficking charges.  Roach remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for July 8, 2015.

Roach was arrested by federal authorities on July 1, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging Roach and co-defendant Angela Santillanes, 30, also of Albuquerque, with commercial sex trafficking.  The complaint alleges that the victim who allegedly was sex trafficked by Roach and Santillanes contacted the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) with a request for help on June 10, 2015.  During subsequent interviews, the victim reported she had been trafficked for sex by Roach for approximately a month and a half.  During that time, the victim allegedly was forced to engage in sex with men four or five times a day earning between $400.00 and $500.00, and Roach allegedly kept all the money.  During that time, Roach allegedly beat the victim on a number of occasions, and threatened to harm her family if she left him.

Both Roach and Santillanes were previously arrested on state human trafficking charges and other offenses.  Santillanes has yet to be arrested on the charges in the federal criminal complaint.

If convicted of the offenses charged in the federal criminal complaint, Roach and Santillanes each face a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of Homeland Security Investigations and APD’s Vice Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Cairns is prosecuting the case.