Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice | Official Website
A Mexican national has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for recruiting and forcing an 18-year-old woman from Mexico into commercial sex in Houston, Texas. Clemente Melendez Gutierrez, age 42, received a sentence of 120 months after pleading guilty in August to transporting a person for the purposes of prostitution.
According to court documents, Melendez met the victim under false pretenses in 2007 by claiming to have a romantic interest. He then isolated her at his parents’ home and told her she would have to work in commercial sex. When she refused, he physically abused her and forced her to perform sex acts at a hotel in Mexico. Days later, Melendez arranged for the victim to be smuggled across the U.S. border into Houston, where he continued exploiting her by making her work at cantinas and engage in commercial sex acts under threat of violence.
Authorities stated that Melendez set nightly quotas for how much money the victim had to earn and used violence when she did not meet these demands. The abuse continued until the victim was able to escape in 2013. Investigators found that between 2005 and 2021, Melendez repeated this pattern with other women and girls.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said: “The defendant preyed upon this vulnerable victim and used physical abuse to coerce her to travel to the United States to engage in commercial sex for his own financial gain. This sentence reflects the severity of the defendant’s conduct, and the DOJ will relentlessly prosecute and hold accountable sex traffickers.”
U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei for the Southern District of Texas commented: “The damage inflicted by this defendant is immeasurable. Gutierrez subjected his victims to years of physical, mental, and sexual abuse in pursuit of his own personal profit. Today’s sentence underscores our office’s steadfast pursuit of those who prey upon and exploit women for financial gain. Let it be known – human trafficking has no home in the Southern District of Texas.”
FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams added: “Today’s sentence brings long-awaited, and overdue, justice for the victim who was subjected to years of abuse and exploitation at the hands of Melendez Gutierrez... While no prison sentence can erase the pain and trauma his victims endured, our hope is that today’s outcome represents accountability, justice and a step toward healing and hope.”
HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz stated: “With today’s sentence, we have removed a dangerous predator from the community who used physical and sexual abuse, threats of violence and psychological manipulation... Working alongside our partners, we exposed his criminal scheme and helped ensure he was held fully accountable for his actions...”
The case was investigated by FBI Houston Field Office, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
Prosecutors on this case included Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Valenti for the Southern District of Texas as well as Trial Attorneys Lindsey Roberson and Matthew Thiman from the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline is available toll-free at 1-888-373-7888 around-the-clock for tips or information about suspected trafficking cases.
For further resources on human trafficking awareness or reporting information:
National Human Trafficking Hotline website: www.humantraffickinghotline.org
U.S. Department of Justice's anti-human trafficking efforts: www.justice.gov/humantrafficking
