A North Carolina woman and her mother-in-law pimped out three underage girls to raise money to bail out the woman’s jailed husband, officials said.
Brianna Leshay Wright, 26, and her mother-in-law, Tanya Fuentes, 56, were both sentenced to prison time on Monday for their role in sex trafficking three girls, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office from the Western District of North Carolina said in a statement.
Wright was sentenced to 120 months in prison with 15 years of supervised release while Fuentes was sentenced to 24 months in prison with two years’ supervised release. Both women pleaded guilty to their crimes in 2018.
The pair tried to help the imprisoned man Zerrell Fuentes— who is behind bars on gun and hit-and-run charges— get out of jail by aiding his prostitution scheme, the Charlotte Observer reported.
“As Zerrell Fuentes previously admitted in court, while he was in jail on state charges, he recruited three underage victims, via telephone, to engage in prostitution to earn money for his bond,” according to the Justice Department release.
The two women drove their victims between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, from April 28, 2016, to May 8, 2016, to engage in commercial sexual activity, prosecutors said.
Wright also used her phone to solicit prostitutes by posting advertisements online. At least two of the victims committed sexual acts or engaged in sexual contact while in Myrtle Beach, Fox News reported.
Zerrell Fuentes, who pleaded guilty in 2018, faces up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine at his sentencing.