Irving man convicted of child sex trafficking

An Irving man who negotiated to have sex with a 12-year-old girl last December was found guilty of involvement in sex trafficking of a female child.

A federal jury on Wednesday convicted 33-year-old Brady Rodriguez-Cruz on a charge of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a female child.

The jurors reached their decision after a three-day trial in a Dallas federal courtroom.

Government prosecutors also presented evidence at the trial that on Jan. 28, when Irving patrol officers stopped a vehicle driven by Rodriguez-Cruz, he had a counterfeit U.S. permanent residence card. The card was issued in another name but bore Rodriguez-Cruz’s photograph. He was also charged with having a counterfeit document.

Sentencing on both charges is scheduled for Feb. 18.

Rodriguez-Cruz’s co-defendant, Luis Rivera, 19, of Irving, pleaded guilty last month to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children.

Rivera is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle on Feb. 4.

The conspiracy count carries a maximum penalty of life in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. The counterfeit document count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to federal documents, Rivera acted as the “pimp” in December when he met a 12-year-old girl and three other juvenile girls in Irving. He took the four to an empty Irving apartment, where they stayed overnight. The girls did not have any money, so they did not eat that day, federal agents said.

The next day, Rivera and the girls left the abandoned apartment and went to the apartment of one of his friends. Rivera told the girls they needed to engage in sex acts with men to earn money for food, according to documents.

Rivera then began making telephone calls, seeking potential customers for the girls. He planned to charge $100 for sexual intercourse with the juveniles.

Rivera reached Rodriguez-Cruz who agreed to come to the apartment to be a “john,” as the documents described him, and have sex with one of the girls. Rodriguez-Cruz brought along another man, federal officials said in documents.

Once Rodriguez-Cruz arrived, Rivera lined up the girls so the men could select who they wanted to have sex with that day. Rodriguez-Cruz chose the 12-year-old girl and negotiated the price down to $50.

Rodriguez-Cruz had sex with the girl, paid Rivera, and left.

Details of Rivera’s and Rodriguez-Cruz’s arrests were not available on Thursday.

Irving police and agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.

This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 1:05 PM with the headline "Irving man convicted of child sex trafficking."