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Jul 25
EL PASO — Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents arrested a San Elizario, Texas man on Thursday after he was indicted on sex tourism charges, authorities said.
A federal grand jury indicted Gustavo Solis-Martinez, 35, on July 16 for allegedly traveling out of the country with the intent of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a teenage girl in Juárez, a federal offense under the PROTECT Act.
PROTECT, which stands for Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today, was signed into law in 2003.
“Sex tourism is a federal offense that ICE investigates aggressively with the assistance of our international law enforcement partners,” said Roberto G. Medina, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in El Paso. “This case exemplifies the level of international resolve to ensure that those who prey on children do not go unpunished.”
Solis-Martinez, a U.S. citizen, was in custody Thursday at the El Paso County jail.
ICE spokesman Leticia Zamarripa said the case developed after the girl made an outcry to her mother. She said the teenager became pregnant after the suspect allegedly had sex with her.
In another case, ICE officials also said a federal judge sentenced John Dickens Armstrong, 51, to more than nine years in prison after he pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual activity with teenage girls in Juárez.
ICE obtained an arrest warrant for Armstrong last year after learning that Juárez police had arrested him for engaging in sexual conduct with underage girls.
Sex tourism investigations are part of ICE’s Operation Predator, an initiative targeting people who sexually exploit children.
Zamarripa said the PROTECT Act authorizes fines and or imprisonment of up to 30 years for U.S. citizens or residents who engage in illicit sexual conduct abroad, commonly known as “sex tourism.”
Officials said anyone can report suspected child predators and suspicious activity at ICE’s toll-free hotline 866-DHS-2ICE, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or online at www.cybertipline.com.
What is my reasoning behind posting this story on a blog about Mexican and American trucking and Mexico in general? It has ties to trucking.
Anyone been in El Paso and heard all of the “shuttle services” advertising “$15 dollars trips of pleasure to old Mexico”? Sure you have.
And how many of these otherwise fine upstanding gentlemen, some of them OODA members, think they can go across and satisfy their most perverse desires? Quite a few, believe me.
Well, the PROTECT ACT was signed into law in 2003 by President Bush to give the United States leverage over the cretins who would travel to a foreign country to engage in this type of behavior. At the time, it was targeted at the underage sex trade in countries such as Cambodia, Thailand and the Phillipines, a favortie destination of the pervs.
Whether or not they are convicted or even arrested in a foreign country, they can be indicted and convicted for their activities in that foreign country in a US Court of Law.
Increasingly, this act has been used to arrest and convict those going across the border into Mexico for this type of activity, as well it should be.
While prostitution is accepted and tolerated in Mexico, hence the name, “zonas de tolerancia”, molestation of children and women are not tolerated when reported or discovered.
Fortunately, the American truck drivers who use these shuttles for this purpose is small, but perhaps this will put them on notice.
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[...] ICE and the PROTECT ACT – Protecting the children of Mexico and …EL PASO — Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents arrested a San Elizario, Texas man on Thursday after he was indicted on sex tourism charges, authorities said. A federal grand jury indicted Gustavo Solis-Martinez, 35, … [...]