John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that HIRAN SANCHEZ, also known as “Ivan" and “Pablo," 21, of Hartford, pleaded guilty today in Hartford federal court to one count of sex trafficking of a minor.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Sanchez recruited two minor victims to engage in commercial sex acts. Sanchez trafficked the first victim, who was 15 at the time, in the summer of 2016, and the second victim, who was 16, in April and May 2017. After Sanchez advertised the victims’ prostitution services on Backpage.com, he transported the victims to Hartford-area hotels to meet with clients who paid them for sex. The victims provided all of the money they earned to Sanchez.
Sanchez has been detained since his arrest on Jan. 22, 2018.
The charge of sex trafficking of a minor carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life. Sanchez is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson on May 8, 2019.
This matter has been investigated by the Connecticut State Police and Hartford Police Department, through the Connecticut Human Trafficking Task Force, and with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarala V. Nagala and Nancy V. Gifford.
January 2019 is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
