Zerrell Fuentes Wife and Mom helped to Transport the girls .. SMH
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WMBF) – A judge sentenced a Charlotte man on Thursday for forcing three young girls into prostitution in Myrtle Beach.
Zerrell Fuentes, 24, was ordered to serve 30 years in prison and spend a lifetime under court supervision after he is released.
Court records show that while Zerrell Fuentes was in jail on state charges back in 2016, he devised a plan to force three underage girls into prostitution so that they could pay his bond.
He arranged for his wife, Brianna Wright, and his mother, Tanya Fuentes, to transport the victims from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts while they were in Myrtle Beach, documents revealed.
PAST COVERAGE:
“Zerrell Fuentes, his wife, and his mother ran a depraved family business engaged in the sex trafficking of young girls for profit,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray.
According to court records, Wright and Tanya Fuentes drove the three girls to Myrtle Beach. Investigators said Tanya Fuentes paid for lodging while Wright drove the girls to meet clients.
“The minors’ prostitution services were advertised on Backpage.com in order to solicit prostitution clients in Myrtle Beach,” the court documents state.
At one point, Fuentes reportedly called a female friend from jail and bragged that he had "three little birdies going to the beach to do something for" him.
While in Myrtle Beach, at least two minor victims committed sexual acts, court documents showed.
“Children are not commodities to be advertised and traded for the financial benefit of wicked adults. The protection of helpless and impressionable minors should be an adult’s priority. Anyone who violates the trust of children for their financial gain deserves to spend three decades behind bars, if not longer, where they can no longer destroy young lives,” Murray said.
Wright was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in the case, and Tanya Fuentes was ordered to serve 24 months in prison.
Zerrell Fuentes will be transferred to a federal prison. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole