The so-called “muscle” behind a decades-long sex trafficking operation at a Mission bar appears headed toward a guilty plea.
Following a sealed event on Friday, plea documents were entered into federal court records on Monday and signed by Genaro Fuentes and his attorney. Federal prosecutors, however, have not yet signed the documents.
Fuentes is facing a Feb. 23 indictment charging him with six counts of sex trafficking of children by force, fraud or coercion. His mother, Rita Martinez, is facing 11 charges and has pleaded not guilty.
The mother and son are accused of making smuggling arrangements for girls and women from the Mexican states of Coahuila and Durango to Hidalgo County from 1996 to 2019 under the guise of working in her restaurant or cleaning houses.
They faced a stark truth when they arrived in the Rio Grande Valley: Martinez told them they owed her a smuggling debt and needed to pay it off by working in her bar at 7700 W. Mile 7 Road, which was called Rita’s Sports Bar and also known as Perez Lounge or Rita’s Lounge, according to the indictment.
“After some days or weeks after each woman or girl began working at Martinez’s bar, Martinez would arrange for clients to take the woman or girl out of the bar to have commercial sex,” the indictment stated.
That document includes allegations of beatings at Martinez’s hands and sexual assaults by Fuentes. It also includes examples of how prosecutors allege the women and girls were sold for sex.
During a detention hearing, prosecutors classified Fuentes as the “muscle” of the operation.
The plea agreement uploaded into the courts record indicates Fuentes is willing to plead guilty to one count of sex trafficking. The penalty for the charge is up to 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
That document also contains a section about cooperation and notes that if Fuentes provides “substantial assistance,” federal prosecutors may file a motion for a downward departure in his sentencing.
The plea agreement defines cooperation as disclosing all criminal activity known to Fuentes, including information about human trafficking and forced labor.
Fuentes also will agree to testify if called and promises to waive his 5th Amendment right to self-incrimination.
He also agrees to pay $20,000 in restitution to “Victim 1,” according to the document.
If he does not fulfill the terms of the agreement, the government can ask the court to set aside the guilty plea so he can face full prosecution.
However, if he does comply and the court accepts the agreement, the government will move to dismiss the remaining counts against him.
Both Fuentes and Martinez were initially arrested on state charges in 2019, but federal prosecutors took over the case and those charges were dismissed.
They have both remained jailed since their arrests.
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