Man gets prison for trafficking teens from San Diego to Arizona, Texas

Domenick Candelieri
·2 min read
2

SAN DIEGO — A National City man was sentenced in federal court Friday to over eight years in prison for trafficking teenagers, prosecutors said.

Kenneth Tenorio, 54, admitted to transporting two female teens from San Diego to Phoenix, Arizona and El Paso, Texas, for the purpose of prostitution, the Office of the United States Attorney Southern District of California said in a news release Friday.

“The defendant exploited women and minors who had been removed from their homes and placed in the foster care system as part of his overall scheme to profit from their commercial sex work,” the release said.

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The defendant used a dating website often used to solicit prostitution, prosecutors said. He would post sex advertisements featuring two victims wearing lingerie and expected them to give him a portion of what they earned from participating in commercial sex acts, according to prosecutors.

In September 2020, Tenorio also trafficked a 15-year-old minor, sending her text messages for the purpose of recruiting and enticing her to engage in prostitution, according to his plea agreement. The defendant knew the victim prior to her involvement in the case.

“The plea agreement reflects that in October 2020, JF1 stayed with the defendant at his residence in National City, California, and he used a false California identification to post online commercial sex advertisements featuring her,” Thornton said. “He also instructed her on how to engage in prostitution on “the blade” – a slang term that refers to an area of town where prostitutes/sex workers solicit sex-buyers – and informed her that he would provide protection for a fee.”

U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Bencivengo gave Tenorio credit for the time he spent in custody in Texas on local charges prior to the federal proceedings, which changed the maximum sentence of 120 months to 106 months.

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