Wednesday, on National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the arrest of Alexzonder Rodriguez, 32, of Detroit, for conducting a criminal enterprise comprised of sex trafficking and prostitution of numerous women in Detroit, Kimball and Port Huron.
Rodriguez was arraigned Jan. 7 in 36th District Court in Detroit before Magistrate Joseph A. Boyer on the following counts:
- Three counts of Forced Labor/Commercial Sex (Sex Trafficking), a 15-year felony;
- Two counts of Pandering, a 20-year felony;
- One count of Accepting Earnings of Prostitution, a 20-year felony;
- One count of Transportation for Prostitution, a 20-year felony; and,
- One count of Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, a 20-year felony.
From February 2021 through June 2022, Rodriguez is accused of operating a prostitution and sex trafficking criminal enterprise involving at least five victims. Rodriguez would arrange dinner dates to lure his victims, and then escalate the arrangements to include regular commercial sex, resulting from Rodriguez’s forced fraud or coercion. The evidence showed that Rodriguez arranged for other victims to engage in commercial sex, organized their transportation and then kept the earnings. His coordinated and sustained sex-trafficking and prostitution activities amount to a criminal enterprise.
AG Nessel said she appreciates the work on this case by the FBI’s Southeast Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Crimes Task Force.
“Human trafficking continues to plague some of most vulnerable people among us. Using control and submission, traffickers exploit their victims, subjecting them to sexual, physical and emotional abuse,” said Nessel. “The Task Force is demonstrating the value of effective partnerships between government agencies in the continued fight to hold traffickers accountable. On this National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, it is incumbent upon us all to know the signs, review the resources and report trafficking when we suspect it,” Nessel said.
“Holding human traffickers responsible and getting them off the streets is of the utmost importance to the FBI. Our collaboration with local law enforcement agencies helps make it possible," said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Detroit Field Office. "This case is a clear example of how crimes of this nature will not be tolerated in Michigan."
Since 2011, the Department of the Attorney General has provided training to more than 3,000 professionals and filed charges against 35 individuals for human trafficking, which all led to arrests. The Department also has successfully convicted 29 people, with cases against several additional defendants pending. The Michigan Human Trafficking Commission, which works to direct state policy on human trafficking, is housed within the Department as well.
Categories: Michigan, General, Government & Policy