A Houston man pleaded guilty to several sex trafficking crimes and possession of child pornography Feb. 27 following a Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Houston Police Department.

A judge in the Southern District of Texas convicted Edgar Botello, 30, of conspiracy to sex trafficking; sex trafficking with force, fraud or coercion; and possession of child pornography.

Botello worked with his mother, Maria Botello-Morales, to run a cantina known as Puerto Algre, where the pair forced several women to engage in commercial sex in back rooms.

As part of his plea, Botello admitted to threatening and intimidating the victims with violence to manipulate them into sex acts for his personal financial benefit.

The victims reported that they started working as waitresses at Puerto Alegre. However, Botello-Morales used Botello as her representative and enforcer and told them they had to engage in commercial sex. If they refused, she threatened them with violence. The women reported that Botello always carried a gun with him and occasionally threatened them.

Some of the victims witnessed violence and weapons at the bar and in the back area where the sex acts occurred. Each described how they had to take customers to the back rooms. They were given a condom wrapped in a piece of paper towel, and they were to spend fewer than 15 minutes in the room and charge approximately $70. Upon leaving, they had to turn the money over to Botello or the person guarding the room.

Law enforcement officers searched Botello’s residence on April 1, 2021. They found numerous weapons in his room and a computer containing child pornography.

Botello is scheduled to be sentenced June 12. He faces up to life in prison for his sex trafficking convictions, and up to 10 years for possessing child pornography.

Botello will remain in custody pending sentencing.

Botello-Morales pleaded guilty on Jan. 30 for her role in the sex trafficking scheme and remains in custody pending her sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Zack is prosecuting the case.

For more news and information on HSI Houston’s efforts to combat sex trafficking and child exploitation in Southeast Texas follow us on Twitter @HSIHouston.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

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