The man identified as the leader of an international sex trafficking organization that operated in several areas including Savannah pled guilty to related charges last week in federal court.
Joaquin Mendez-Hernandez, 35, formerly of Mexico, faces the possibility of life in prison for his role in the operation that worked in Savannah and parts of Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Mexico, said James D. Durham, 1st Assistant U.S. Attorney.
All 23 defendants captured in the case, dubbed Operation Dark Night, have now pled guilty for their roles in the organization that Durham called “the largest sex trafficking investigation ever prosecuted in the Southern District of Georgia.”
Mendez-Hernandez, or “El Flaco,” and many of the other defendants will be sentenced in the future by Senior United States District Court Judge B. Avant Edenfield.
Two additional defendants — Eugenio Prieto-Hernandez and Daniel Ribon-Gonzalez — remain at large.
“It is with great pride that I announce the convictions of all of the defendants who were indicted and arrested in connection with Operation Dark Night,” said U.S. Attorney Edward J. Tarver. “This case serves as an example of how local and federal law enforcement can work together to rescue women, save lives, and prosecute criminals. In this case, justice was swift; and we expect the punishment to be severe.”
Evidence presented ahead of the guilty pleas showed members of the organization enticed women from Mexico, Nicaragua and elsewhere to travel to the United States for a more promising life, Durham said. Once in the U.S. those women were forced into prostitution at numerous locations in Savannah and the southeastern United States, often being forced to engage in sexual activity with as many as 30 to 50 people a day.
Members of the organization, Durham added, threatened and used violence against the women, held their children hostage in Mexico, and often traded their victims to other organization members working in other states.
“The conviction of the monsters arrested in this heinous sex trafficking scheme marks the end of a life of misery inflicted on these innocent victims of human trafficking,” said Brock D. Nicholson, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations of Atlanta. “The perpetrators — ranging from street-level customers to international sex traffickers — will be held accountable for their repeated victimization and exploitation of these vulnerable women. We are deeply gratified by the significant support we received from our law enforcement partners, non-governmental service organizations and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District Georgia for bringing Operation Dark Night to a successful conclusion.”
The 23 defendants who pled guilty in Operation Dark Night are:
• Joaquin Mendez-Hernandez, a.k.a. “El Flaco,” 35, of Savannah
• Juan Carlos Pena, 55, Bonaire
• Luisa Capilla-Lancho, a.k.a. “Marisol” 32, of Savannah
• Jorge Lira-Xochicale, a.k.a. “Roger,” a.k.a. “Juan De Dios,” a.k.a. “Juan Diablo,” 35,
of Atlanta
• Mayer Sanchez-Calderon, a.k.a. “Maye,” 22, of Charlotte, N.C.
• Claudio Sanchez-Calderon, a.k.a. “Borrego,” 43, of Charlotte, N.C.
• Omar Peralta-Rodriguez, a.k.a. “Erick Peralta,” a.k.a. “El Negro,” 42, of Baxley
• Neurby Celenia Diaz, a.k.a. “Dona Rosa,” 48, of Baxley
• Antonio Ubaldo Mendez-Lopez, 46, of Naples, Fla.
• Cesar Aguilar-Rebollar, a.k.a. “Cesar Nicholas Jaime,” 44, of Tampa, Fla.
• Sylvia Barrera, 30, of Warner Robbins
• David Reyes, 29, of Savannah
• Antonio Ramirez-Catalan, a.k.a. “Joel,” 30, of Monroe, N.C.
• Jose Ricardo Vazquez-Garcia, 39, of West Columbia, S.C.
• Marisol Ferreriras, 38, of Marietta
• Paresh Patel, 55, of Savannah
• Sergio Valazquez Martinez, 35, of Savannah
• Fernando Pelayo Silverio, 27, of Savannah
• Arturo Salquil- Gomez, 41, of Savannah
• Jose Hernandez-Trujillo, 29, of Savannah
• Silvstre Aguilar Sayago, a.k.a. “Chucky,” 27, of Savannah
• Rodolfo Hernandez Guiterrez, 44, of Savannah
• Alex Martinez Monzon, 36, of Savannah