Earlier today in Brooklyn federal court, Blanca Hernandez Morales was sentenced to 35 years in prison for sex trafficking minors using force, fraud, and coercion. United States District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall also ordered Hernandez Morales to pay $179,300 in restitution. She is the last of four co-defendants convicted on various charges, including sex trafficking, following a trial in October 2023. The other defendants—Roberto Cesar Cid Dominguez, Luz Cardona, and Jose Facundo Zarate Morales—were previously sentenced to terms ranging from 25 to over 31 years.
The sentences were announced by Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge at the FBI’s New York Field Office; and Michael Alfonso, Acting Special Agent in Charge at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York.
“Today’s sentence holds the defendants accountable for their decade-long exploitation of young women and minors and is a reckoning for the perpetrators of these deplorable crimes,” stated United States Attorney Joseph Nocella. “It is our hope that these extensive prison sentences bring some measure of comfort to the victims in this case.”
Nocella also thanked the New York City Police Department and Putnam County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance.
“This family orchestrated an international sex trafficking operation to route vulnerable victims, including minors, from Mexico into the United States to commit sexual acts. For more than a decade, these defendants lured young girls across the border with the enticement of the American dream before ensnaring them into a life of sexual servitude. May today’s lengthy prison sentences highlight the FBI’s intolerance of those who seek to profit from the sexual abuse and exploitation of others,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.
“This sentencing brings a conclusive end to the yearslong, unimaginable exploitation and abuse of young women and minors. No person should ever be exposed to the dehumanizing atrocities these victims suffered at the hands of their own common-law and blood relatives. HSI New York will never forget the strength of those who bravely came forward and we owe the successful resolution of this case to their courage and willingness to speak out,” stated HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Alfonso.
According to evidence presented at trial, since around 2002 all four defendants—who are related by blood or common-law marriage—participated in what prosecutors described as “the Cid-Hernandez Sex Trafficking Organization.” The group used threats, force, fraud, and coercion against young women and minor girls from Mexico who were promised jobs or better lives if they traveled to New York. Once there, they were forced into prostitution.
One victim testified that she was 15 when her aunt offered her travel expenses from Mexico under false pretenses but instead sold her virginity upon arrival before forcing her into commercial sex with multiple men daily.
The organization operated mainly out of Queens but transported victims throughout New York State and Connecticut using controlled client lists called “routes” as well as drivers employed by members.
Additionally, Roberto Cesar Cid Dominguez bribed Village of Brewster Police Officer Wayne Peiffer with free sexual services for protection from law enforcement within his jurisdiction. Peiffer pleaded guilty in April 2022 to conspiracy related charges and received a three-year sentence.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York prosecuted this case through its Human Trafficking and Civil Rights Section with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel A. Bennek and Nicholas Moscow leading prosecution efforts.
The U.S. Attorney's Office serves as the federal prosecutor's office covering Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau County, Suffolk County—with offices located in Brooklyn and Central Islip—and handles prosecutions involving federal crimes such as human trafficking while supporting victim assistance programs.
