Crime & Safety

Alexandria MS-13 Member Sentenced for Sex Trafficking

Alexander Rivas prostituted teenage runaways at 7-Elevens and construction sites, carried a machete named 'my wife.'

An Alexandria member of the MS-13 gang was sentenced Friday in federal court to 10 years in prison for involvement in trafficking two underage girls for sex.

Alexander Rivas, 19, pled guilty in April to prostituting two girls, aged 14 and 17, throughout 2010.

The girls, both of whom had run away from their families, stayed with Rivas. In exchange, he arranged prostitution appointments for them throughout Northern Virginia.

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"The defendant knew that these young girls were underage and exploited their vulnerability as runaways who had no place to stay and no legitimate way of supporting themselves," wrote United States Attorney Neil MacBride in a sentencing proposal.

Rivas, nicknamed "Casper," began prostituting the girls by setting up appointments for them with men, including some illegal immigrants. While Rivas maintained a client list, other times he would just drive to 7-Eleven stores and construction sites and ask men there if they wanted to have sex with the girls.

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Rivas also developed customers through his two brothers, who sold beer out of their apartment. Rivas would approach his brothers' customers, frequently illegal immigrants and construction workers, and tell them he had girls to prostitute.

Rivas also provided his victims with transportation, condoms, rules relating to their appointments, and handled negotiations. His cut amounted to at least 50 percent from each exchange. According to one victim, Rivas typically charged customers around $50.

Sometimes, his prostitution business would serve 100 customers on one weekend night. According to one of his victims, Rivas would carry a machete to the prostitution appointments that he had nicknamed "my wife." 

Eventually, prosecutors say, Rivas, a member of the Virginia Locos chapter of MS-13, loaned his victims to another gang member, who had a larger network of "johns." Rivas continued receiving a cut of the prostitution profits.

Rivas first came to law enforcement attention when one of the runaway girls' parents notified the Alexandria Police Department that his daughter was staying with Rivas.

"The nature and circumstances of defendant's conduct is despicable and has resulted in the traumatization of two juveniles from which they may never recover," United States Attorney Neil H. MacBride wrote in a document outlining Rivas' proposed sentence.

Rivas' sentence, 120 months, falls short of the range requested by MacBride, between 168 and 210 months in prison. Rivas' attorney had requested 120 months, citing his client's young age and lack of current involvement in gang life.

After his release, Rivas will be under five years of supervised release, and will have to register as a sex offender.


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