Hyattsville, Maryland, Man Convicted of Coercing 14 Year-old Foreign Girl into Prostitution

Maryland - Javier Miguel Ramirez, age 35, of Hyattsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to sex trafficking of a minor girl, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Grace Chung Becker.

“Javier Miguel Ramirez committed a depraved and morally reprehensible crime by using a 14 year old foreign girl as a prostitute and sex slave,” said United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “This is one of the most shameful human trafficking cases that we have seen in Maryland. I want to commend the local police, federal agents and prosecutors for recognizing the importance of this case and ensuring that justice will be done.”

“Few crimes are more repugnant than sex trafficking a helpless and innocent girl,” said James A. Dinkins, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Baltimore. “ICE will continue to aggressively investigate those who victimize children, and will work in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to protect our communities from the threats and vulnerabilities posed by criminal organizations engaged in human trafficking.”

According to his plea agreement, from August 2005 through June 2006, a Mexican national girl worked for Ramirez as a prostitute. Ramirez knew that the girl was only 14 years old when she began working for him. Ramirez instructed her to lie and tell clients that she was 20 years old. Upon receiving requests for sex from clients by phone, Ramirez caused the girl to be transported to residences in Maryland and Virginia to engage in sex. He instructed the girl to charge clients $25 or $30 per 15 minutes of sex. She was instructed to meet with 25 clients or more per day, and provided most of the money that she made to Ramirez.

During this time, the girl was dependent on Ramirez for housing, food, clothing and other incidentals. He often housed her in his residence. Ramirez also initiated a sexual relationship with the girl.

Ramirez faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow scheduled sentencing for June 23, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. As a result of today’s conviction, Ramirez will be required to register as a sex offender in any state in which he resides, works or attends school.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Grace Chung Becker and United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Hyattsville Police Department for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein commended Trial Attorney Karima Maloney of the Criminal Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant United States Attorney Steven M. Dunne, who are prosecuting the case.