SUR-13 Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Child Sex Trafficking

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Ramiro Espinoza Jamaica, aka “Criminal,” 20, of Manassas, Virginia, pled guilty late yesterday to sex trafficking a 14-year-old female runaway. Jamaica is a member of SUR–13, a transnational Hispanic street gang.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Charlie T. Deane, Prince William County Chief of Police; and Douglas W. Keen, Manassas City Chief of Police, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge T. S. Ellis, III.

Indicted on March 8, 2012, Jamaica pled guilty on April 12, 2012 to sex trafficking of a minor. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison when he is sentenced on July 13, 2012.

“We have a zero-tolerance, one-strike policy toward juvenile sex trafficking in this District,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “Anyone we find who entices or forces a young girl into the vile world of prostitution will pay a very heavy price for their actions.”

“This case demonstrates how an individual can prey upon young girls and lure them into prostitution,” said Assistant Director in Charge McJunkin. “The FBI is committed to apprehending and prosecuting individuals who sexually exploit children, and we will continue to work to identify these predators and their victims.”

According to court documents, Jamaica, a Mexican-born U.S. citizen, harbored a runaway 14-year-old girl for purposes of prostitution in early 2011. Jamaica admitted that he escorted the young girl to a prostitution appointment, used his sublet bedroom for a prostitution appointment, and provided the girl with alcohol to help her have sex with a client.

Jamaica is the first SUR-13 gang member to be convicted of child sex trafficking. In addition to SUR-13, since 2011, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia has charged and convicted members of MS-13 and the Underground Gangster Crips with the sex trafficking of juveniles.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, with assistance from the Prince William County Police Department, the Manassas City Police Department, and the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Terwilliger and Special Assistant United States Attorney A. Marisa Chun are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Founded in 2004, the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force is a collaboration of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies—along with non-governmental organizations—dedicated to combating human trafficking and related crimes.