Santo Domingo.- The Public Prosecutor’s Office requested the imposition of preventive detention against three Dominican citizens and one Haitian who were part of a criminal network dedicated to human trafficking for sexual exploitation, including adult women and adolescents of different nationalities, in the tourist area of Verón, c.
The Specialized Prosecutor’s Office against Illicit Trafficking of Migrants and Human Trafficking (PETT) and the La Altagracia Prosecutor’s Office, in charge of the investigation, requested the Permanent Attention Court of this province to impose the coercive measure on the Dominicans Domingo Lorenzo Santana (Wellington), head of the organization, Reyna Julissa Solano Monción (administrator) and Richard de La Cruz Camacho (Danny, el Pa yy/o Paz), as well as the Haitian citizen Berlin Erisme (Obama).
During the course of the investigations, it was established that the victims, among them Dominicans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Colombians, were sexually exploited by members of the network, who charged sums ranging between 200, 300 and 600 US dollars for each sexual service they offered.
Read: Commercial sexual exploitation of children in the Dominican Republic decreased by 78%
Arrest warrants were issued against the group and they were brought before the courts. The Judicial Office of Permanent Attention Services of La Altagracia has scheduled the hearing for the coercive measure for this Friday, August 30.
The arrests were carried out in a business that used the façade of a family residence, which was intended for sexual tourism, since most of those who went there were tourists. The business was raided and 20 victims were rescued. At the time of the operation, there were several clients in the establishment.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the National Police worked together to dismantle the network.
The request for coercive measures indicates that the network was responsible for recruiting young adolescents in different locations throughout the country, mainly in the National District, Santiago de los Caballeros, Puerto Plata and La Romana, among other locations, who were then transferred to the aforementioned tourist area, where they were sexually exploited in the establishment owned by Santana, which was managed by Solano Monción, who also worked as a cashier.
Regarding the network, he also details that the other defendants performed different functions.
During the investigations, different evidence has been obtained, such as documents, receipts, payments for outings, payments for VIP sexual services, cash (Dominican pesos and US dollars) and other items related to the crime being investigated.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office supported the request for the imposition of preventive detention with nearly three hundred pieces of evidence and has granted the present fact the legal qualification of violation of articles letters A, I, article 3, 6, 7, letter E, of Law 137-03, which punish human trafficking, in the form of sexual exploitation, and pimping, contained in articles 334 and 334-1 of the Dominican Penal Code, as well as money laundering in violation of Law 155-17.
In a press release, the Public Prosecutor’s Office stressed that with the dismantling of this criminal organization, it continues to advance in its commitment to combat these crimes.
