3 Florida men sentenced for exploiting runaway teens in sex trafficking scheme, officials say

A federal judge in South Florida has sentenced three men to prison for trafficking teenage girls who had run away from foster care.

U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks sentenced Antonio Michel, 36, of Delray Beach, to 180 months or 15 years, in federal prison. Jaime Figueroa, 36, of Boynton Beach, received 235 months or 19 years and 7 months. Raymond Jean, 46, of Greenacres, was sentenced to 144 months or 12 years.

All three pleaded guilty.

Michel and Jean pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor. Figueroa pleaded guilty to production of child sexual abuse material.

According to court documents, the three men targeted three teenage girls who had run away from foster care.

They transported, harbored and commercially exploited the minors for financial gain, taking advantage of the victims' youth, instability and lack of family support, court documents said.

Michel, often accompanied by Jean, transported the victims to and from hotels, motels and other locations where commercial sex acts occurred, according to court documents. Michel also rented and paid for multiple hotel and motel rooms used in the scheme.

Figueroa directed the victims on how much to charge for commercial sex acts and how to conduct the "dates," court documents said. He regularly supplied crack cocaine to the victims and collected the proceeds from the commercial sex acts.

After Figueroa's arrest, law enforcement searched his cellphone and found that he had produced child sexual abuse material involving one of the victims, according to court documents.

"These defendants found missing foster children who needed protection and chose instead to exploit them, supply them with drugs and sell them for profit," U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said.

Special Agent in Charge José R. Figueroa of Homeland Security Investigations Miami said the defendants "targeted some of the most vulnerable children in our community and treated them as a source of profit."

The case was investigated by HSI West Palm Beach and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Human Trafficking Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon O'Shea Darsch and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Chase prosecuted the case.