Crime & Safety
Montgomery County Man Charged with Teenage Sex Trafficking
Yimmy Anthony Pineda Penado admitted ties to the MS-13 gang.
A Montgomery County man has been charged in a scheme in which a teenage girl operated as a prostitute in Maryland and Northern Virginia, according to U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia.
Yimmy Anthony Pineda Penado, also known as “Critico” and “Spike,” allegedly gave juvenile female runaways drugs and alcohol to make them more receptive to being prostituted, MacBride said in a statement.
Pineda Penado made multiple appointments per day for a girl and told her to lie about her name and age and act like she was enjoying sexual intercourse, the U.S. attorney's office said in a statement.
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The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Fairfax County Police Department.
Authorities said Pineda Penado has acknowledged ties to MS-13, a national street gang that has a heavy presence in the D.C. metro region.
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