PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Paul J. Monteiro, a/k/a “Peezy," 31, of Providence, pleaded guilty in federal court in Providence today to sex trafficking of a minor, admitting to the court that he transported a 14-year-old girl from Rhode Island to New Jersey for the purpose of engaging in commercial sexual activity.
Monteiro and the minor female were located in a hotel room in Franklin Township, New Jersey, on April 6, 2015, by agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FBI and Franklin Township police.
Monteiro’s guilty plea is announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Matthew J. Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for New England; Lieutenant Colonel Kevin M. Barry, Acting Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police; and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office of the FBI.
According to information presented to the court, on March 23, 2015, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported to Rhode Island State Police that they had received a report of a juvenile female from Rhode Island who had allegedly been sexually molested by an adult male and that she was afraid to end the relationship due to threats of bodily harm.
Rhode Island State Police determined that the young female was reported missing on Nov. 20, 2014, from a group home in Rhode Island. Through further investigation, Rhode Island State Police learned that the girl had traveled to New Jersey with an individual identified as “Peezy."
On April 6, 2015, Rhode Island State Police tracked a cell phone in the possession of the missing teenager to Franklin Township, New Jersey. HSI and FBI agents, and police officers from Franklin Township located the missing girl and Paul Monteiro in a hotel room in Franklin Township. Monteiro was arrested by Franklin Township police on New Jersey state charges and detained. A court authorized search of a cell phone belonging to Monteiro resulted in the discovery of photographs of the 14-year-old girl that had been posted in advertisements on Backpage.com offering the young victim for commercial sex.
Monteiro, who has been detained since his arrest on April 6, 2015, is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith on Dec. 22, 2016.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. McAdams.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
