Wonder Lake man gets 22 years in prison for human trafficking a teen girl in Lake County, Illinois

A man from Wonder Lake, Illinois, will spend more than 20 years behind bars after pleading guilty to human trafficking and sex abuse.

Jose Puga, 52, pleaded guilty to involuntary sexual servitude of a minor and aggravated criminal sexual abuse and was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Puga and Sheila E. Johnston of Round Lake Beach were arrested for sexually trafficking a 15-year-old girl. Johnston, who was arrested in 2019, posted advertisements on a website for the girl to perform sexual acts in exchange for money.

Undercover detectives from the Lake County Sheriff's Department posed as potential clients and met with Johnston and the teen girl at a hotel in Waukegan, during which Johnston offered both herself and teen for engaging in sexual acts for money. When an agreement was reached, the undercover officer arrested Johnston and took the teen into protective custody.

Johnston was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison in federal court for her role in the trafficking.

Puga was arrested and charged nearly six years after Johnston. He was sentenced Wednesday.

Prosecutors and police praised the trafficking survivor, saying her cooperation and bravery was what put Puga and Johnston behind bars. They said she delivered a "powerful" victim impact statement at Puga's plea hearing.

"The heart of this story is the bravery of the survivor. Without her, we could not have held this dangerous offender accountable," said Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart.

Upon release, Puga will be required to register as a sex offender and will be under supervised release for 18 months.