Man accused of sex trafficking victims, including in Port Huron and Kimball
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Wednesday the arrest of Alexzonder Rodriguez, 32, of Detroit, for allegedly conducting a criminal enterprise comprised of sex trafficking and prostitution of numerous women in Detroit, Kimball and Port Huron.
Rodriguez was arraigned Saturday in 36th District Court in Detroit before Magistrate Joseph Boyer on the following counts:
Three counts of forced labor/commercial sex, a 15-year felony
Two counts of pandering, a 20-year felony
One count of accepting earnings of prostitution, a 20-year felony
One count of transportation for prostitution, a 20-year felony
One count of conducting a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony.
From February 2021 through June 2022, Rodriguez is accused of operating a prostitution and sex trafficking criminal enterprise involving at least five victims.
Rodriguez would arrange dinner dates to lure his victims, and then escalate the arrangements to include regular commercial sex, resulting from Rodriguez’s forced fraud or coercion, according to Nessel.
The attorney general alleges the evidence showed that Rodriguez arranged for other victims to engage in commercial sex, organized their transportation and then kept the earnings.
Nessel said in a statement she appreciates the work on the case by the FBI’s Southeast Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Crimes Task Force.
“Human trafficking continues to plague some of most vulnerable people among us. Using control and submission, traffickers exploit their victims, subjecting them to sexual, physical and emotional abuse,” said Nessel. “The Task Force is demonstrating the value of effective partnerships between government agencies in the continued fight to hold traffickers accountable. On this National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, it is incumbent upon us all to know the signs, review the resources and report trafficking when we suspect it."
“Holding human traffickers responsible and getting them off the streets is of the utmost importance to the FBI. Our collaboration with local law enforcement agencies helps make it possible," said James Tarasca, special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit Field Office. "This case is a clear example of how crimes of this nature will not be tolerated in Michigan."
Rodriguez's bond was set at $1 million, according to court records. An order for a court appointed lawyer was granted Tuesday.
Contact Liz Shepard at lshepard@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Detroit man accused of sex trafficking victims, including in Port Huron and Kimball
