Massachusetts Man Sentenced For Conspiring To Transport An Individual For Prostitution

          CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE - Andy Pena, 21, of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, was sentenced in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire on one count of transporting an individual in interstate commerce for prostitution, announced U.S. Attorney Emily Gray Rice.  The Court imposed a sentence of 8 years’ imprisonment, to be followed by a period of supervised release. 

          In February of 2014, Homeland Security Investigations, Manchester, New Hampshire, and the Salem, New Hampshire Police Department, with the assistance of the Boston Police Department, rescued a fifteen-year-old female who was engaging in prostitution from a Salem hotel room.  Upon further investigation, authorities identified multiple individuals – including Pena – who were involved in the scheme to transport the female from Boston, Massachusetts to Salem, New Hampshire for prostitution.

          The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (Manchester, NH) and the Salem Police Department, in conjunction with the police departments of Boston, Massachusetts and Manchester, New Hampshire, as well as the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (NH ICAC).  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nick Abramson and Helen Fitzgibbon.

           In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.