Overview
- Federal prosecutors said five members of a smuggling organization were sentenced to a combined 89 years after a case involving a kidnapped family and the rape of a pregnant woman.
- Rodolfo Daniel De Hoyos, 22, received 170 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to harbor undocumented immigrants causing serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy.
- Court records say the group held a Guatemalan family hostage during a San Antonio-to-Austin transport, sexually assaulted the pregnant woman, and threatened to kill a 7-year-old and sell the unborn baby, prompting at least a $1,000 payment on July 9, 2023.
- Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses imposed terms on the other defendants: Edwin Alfredo Barrientos-Mateo (30 years), Juan Antonio Flores (17½ years), Nelson Abilio Castro-Zelaya (15 years), and Tomas Estrada-Torres (12½ years), while four co-defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
- In a separate case, Mexican national Pedro Luis Martinez-Jacquez was sentenced to 30 years for leading a ring that moved more than 500 migrants, generated over $4.7 million, and was linked to one death.