CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Charlotte couple accepted plea deals Tuesday, admitting they prostituted children in Myrtle Beach in 2016.
Zerrell Ross Fuentes, 24, admitted to prosecutors that while he was in jail, he recruited three underage victims on the phone to engage in prostitution to earn his bond money. Fuentes said his wife, 25-year-old Brianna Wright, as well as his mother, Tanya Marie Fuentes, conspired with him to organize the operation.
According to court documents, Fuentes arranged for Wright and his mother to drive the victims from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach, where they stayed in a hotel provided by the Fuentes’ mother. Wright used her phone to post prostitution ads online and arranged meetings with customers. She also took the minors to the arranged meetings.
Zerrell Fuentes and Wright are still in jail. Tanya Fuentes was charged with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, sex trafficking of a minor, conspiracy to transport a minor to engage in prostitution and transportation of a minor to engage in prostitution. Zerrell Fuentes and Wright were arrested in April of 2017.
The penalty for sex trafficking related crimes is a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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