BY LE FLORIDIEN |
MIAMI — Two Haitian nationals living in Palm Beach County have received lengthy federal prison sentences for participating in a scheme that sexually exploited teenage girls who had run away from foster care.
Antonio Michel, 36, of Delray Beach, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to sex trafficking of a minor. Raymond Jean, 46, of Greenacres, received a 12-year sentence after pleading guilty to the same federal offense.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently drew renewed attention to the case in a social media post identifying Michel and Jean as Haitian nationals. Their sentences were originally announced on August 3 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
A third defendant, Jaime Figueroa, 36, of Boynton Beach, was sentenced to 19 years and seven months after pleading guilty to producing child sexual abuse material. ICE identified Figueroa as a U.S. citizen.
According to federal prosecutors, the three men exploited three teenage girls who had left foster care. Authorities said the defendants took advantage of the victims’ ages, unstable circumstances and lack of family support, transporting and housing them for commercial sexual exploitation.
Court documents indicated that Michel, frequently accompanied by Jean, transported the teenage victims to hotels, motels and other locations. Michel also rented and paid for several rooms used as part of the trafficking operation.
Prosecutors said Figueroa instructed the girls on how much money to charge and how to conduct encounters with customers. He also supplied them with crack cocaine and collected the money generated through the commercial sex acts.
After Figueroa was arrested, investigators searched his cellphone and found child sexual abuse material that he had produced involving one of the victims, according to the Justice Department.
U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks imposed the three sentences in federal court. U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones described the defendants’ conduct as “cruel and predatory,” saying they exploited missing children who should have received protection.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations in West Palm Beach and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon O’Shea Darsch and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Chase prosecuted the case.
