California Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking of a Minor

     PHOENIX – Today, Mauro Veliz, 31, of Heron, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Diane J. Humetewa to 96 months in federal prison, to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release.  Veliz will also be required to register as a sex offender.  Veliz had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor.    

     Between April 23, 2017 and May 5, 2017, Veliz conspired with others to have the minor victim, who was 15, transported from Arizona to California to engage in sex acts with him. Veliz knew at the time that the victim was a minor.  Veliz used Facebook to arrange his trafficking of the victim.

     This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the FBI’s Greater Phoenix Human Trafficking Task Force, which is a collaboration of numerous law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the Phoenix Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Robert I. Brooks, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER:         CR-17-1389-PHX-DJH  

RELEASE NUMBER:    2019-012_Veliz

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/