Man who �repeatedly raped 14-year-old girl in exchange for protecting her family’, jailed for 25 years
Man who ‘repeatedly raped 14-year-old girl in exchange for protecting her family’, jailed for 25 years
Eric Noe Araujo Flores brought the girl to the US from El Salvador
A man who repeatedly raped a 14-year-old girl in exchange for protection from local street gangs has been jailed for 25 years.
Eric Noe Araujo Flores, a Salvadoran national who was living in the US state of Virginia, contacted his former nanny in his home country and asked her to help him find “friends”. She put him in touch with her 14-year-old niece, who was being threatened by local street gangs.
Flores, 34, offered to protect her and her family if she had sex with him.
In 2013 Flores made three trips to El Salvador to have sex with the girl, paying her and her mother in cash and buying the family “jewellery, food and clothing”.
He told the girl he was the only thing standing between her and the gangs.
After the girl attempted suicide, Flores decided to smuggle the girl, then 15-years-old, and her mother into the US, where he put them up in an apartment close to the home he shared with his wife and two daughters.
There, Flores repeatedly forced himself on the girl, telling her he would stop paying for rent and food, and that she would be evicted and deported if she did not give in.
Flores was found guilty of sex trafficking and sex tourism in February, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Friday. He was also ordered to pay $40,370 (£28,100) to the victim.
Sentencing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Frank said: “Sex trafficking and sex tourism are hidden crimes, and that’s what the defendant was counting on in this case.”
At the trial, prosecutors said the girl was continuing to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, and the case almost collapsed due to doubt over whether she would be able to testify.
“Frankly, her life is a mess,” Frank said in court.
Flores only spoke once in court and said: “What has been said is not fair.”
He plans to appeal the verdict, his attorney confirmed.