Pair Charged with Engaging in Child Prostitution Scheme, Reports U.S. Attorney

12 July 2006

A Chelsea woman and an East Boston man will appear in federal court this week on an Indictment charging them with conspiring to engage in a child prostitution scheme, Alice S. Fisher, Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice's Criminal Division; United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; Kenneth W. Kaiser, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New England; Albert Goslin, Superintendent in Chief of the Boston Police Department; and Colonel Mark Delaney, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, announced today.

EVELYN DIAZ, age 22, of Chelsea, Massachusetts, and VICTOR DIAZ, age 23, of East Boston, Massachusetts, were arrested on the charges on Friday, July 7, 2006, and held in custody pending detention hearings. VICTOR DIAZ is scheduled to have his detention hearing today at 11:00 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leo Sorokin. EVELYN DIAZ's detention hearing is scheduled for Friday, July 14, 2006, at 2:30 p.m.

Both defendants are charged in the Indictment with one count of conspiracy to engage in a child prostitution scheme. Additionally, EVELYN DIAZ is charged with two counts of transportation of a minor to engage in prostitution, and three counts of sex trafficking of children.

"Our society has no place for those who prey on children and no tolerance for child prostitution," stated U.S. Attorney Sullivan. "The U.S. Attorney's Office and our partners in law enforcement are committed to protecting the most vulnerable among us, our children. We will continue to aggressively pursue sex traffickers, child prostitution rings and the people who operate them."

According to the Indictment returned by a federal Grand Jury on June 28, 2006, and unsealed following the arrests, it is alleged that between approximately July of 2003 and May of 2005, EVELYN DIAZ operated an escort service that advertised in multiple publications and websites and sent individuals, including minors, on prostitution calls in and around Boston. It is further alleged that VICTOR DIAZ assisted in the operation by driving adults and minors working as prostitutes for EVELYN DIAZ to prostitution calls.

If convicted, both defendants face a maximum sentence of 5 years on the conspiracy charge. Additionally, EVELYN DIAZ faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years up to a maximum of 30 years in prison on the transportation of a minor charges, and a 40 year maximum sentence on two of the sex trafficking of children charges and a maximum life sentence on the third sex trafficking charge.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Boston Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana Gershengorn in Sullivan's Major Crimes Unit, and Wendy Waldron, Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.

The case is part of the Innocence Lost Initiative, a cooperative effort to prevent and prosecute child prostitution between the FBI, the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. To date, the Innocence Lost Initiative has resulted in 188 open investigations, 547 arrests, 79 complaints, 105 indictments, and 80 convictions in both the federal and state systems.

The details contained in the Indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: prnewswire

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