MIAMI – A 38-year-old man from Cutler Bay is facing human trafficking charges after authorities say he attempted to have sex with a 15-year-old girl last week in Miami.
According to Miami police, Ubilder Moises Velasquez is facing a slew of charges that include human trafficking of a minor, illegal use of computer services or devices and traveling to meet a minor for unlawful purposes.
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The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force, along with the Miami Police Department and Homeland Security, conducted an operation in which undercover officers were depicted as underage minors.
During this operation, authorities were contacted via cellphone on a number that was posted on an online advertisement that identified the minors as 13 and 15 years old.
Detectives said pictures of the undercover officers posing as minors were sent to Velasquez on April 19, at which time he chose to contact the 15-year-old girl by cellphone.
Authorities said during this communication, the undercover officer made it clear that the minors were female and Velasquez agreed to 15 minutes of sexual intercourse for $100 with the teen.
According to his arrest report, Velasquez was instructed by the undercover officer to go to a Burger King restaurant in Miami and purchase two Hershey pies and 16-piece chicken nuggets for the minors.
Police said the undercover officer, who was posing as the mother of the two minors, later met Velasquez at an undisclosed hotel in Miami, where he handed her $100 in exchange for 15 minutes of sexual intercourse.
The undercover officer opened the door of the hotel room and let Velasquez inside, where he was immediately placed into custody by tactical officers, the report stated.
Police said Velasquez was read his Miranda rights in Spanish and agreed to speak to detectives without an attorney present.
According to the report, Velasquez said he agreed to pay $100 for sex with the minor, but stated that he was going to lock himself in the hotel room and call the police in an effort to “rescue the juvenile.”
Police said a detective sent a text message to phone numbers that were previously used by undercover detectives for communication with Velasquez. Upon texting these numbers, authorities confirmed that both phone numbers belonged to Velasquez.
Velasquez acknowledged something while being questioned by detectives, but his exact confession was redacted in the publicly released report.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle announced the arrests of two other men who separately responded to the ad and negotiated for pre-agreed sex acts in exchange for money with the minors.
According to Rundle, 28-year-old Santiago Salazar Venegas and 26-year-old Pedro Perez Rivera, were both arrested on sex trafficking charges during the operation.
“Those seeking to have sexual contact with our children will face a surprise if they come to Miami-Dade County,” said Rundle in a news release Monday. “All those agencies involved in fighting Human Trafficking, the Miami Police Department, members of my Human Trafficking Task Force, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Secret Service all want human traffickers to know, that if they come to Miami-Dade County, you will get arrested as you ply your ugly pursuits. You can count on that!”
Jail records show Salazar Venegas is facing one count each of human trafficking of a minor, traveling to meet a minor to engage in unlawful sexual conduct, using an electronic device to solicit a parent to consent to sexual conduct with a child, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, aggravated Fleeing and eluding and a separate charge of fleeing and eluding.
Authorities say Perez Rivera is facing one count each of human trafficking of a minor, traveling to meet a minor to engage in unlawful sexual conduct and using an electronic device to solicit a parent to consent to sexual conduct with a child.
All three men were taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center where they are being held with bond, as of Monday, according to authorities.