CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Three Mexican nationals, all residents of Jackson, Wyo., face the possibility of life in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday to sex trafficking a 13-year-old girl.

The guilty pleas were jointly announced yesterday by U.S. Attorney Matthew H. Mead, District of Wyoming; Michael Masto, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Investigations in Denver, Colo.; and Acting Resident Agent in Charge Norm Scott of the FBI in Jackson.

Jacobo Dominguez Vazquez, 33; Jose Luis Chavez, 42; and Braulio Aniceto Velez, 21; all Mexican nationals, entered their guilty pleas before U.S. District Court Judge Clarence A. Brimmer, in Cheyenne, Wyo. Dominguez Vazquez is a permanent resident of the United States; the other two men reside in the country illegally.

The investigation determined that the girl was smuggled into the United States from Mexico specifically for prostitution. She was transported to Jackson, Wyo., through Phoenix, Ariz., in March 2004. The alien smugglers told her that she would be having sex with men for money. When the girl objected, she was told that having sex was how she had to pay her smuggling fee. The men solicited prostitution business for the girl in Jackson. They obtained a cell phone specifically to take calls from customers wanting to pay for sex with the girl. All three defendants took money from the customers, which they later split. None of the money was given to the girl.

The men operated their prostitution business from local motels during March and April 2004. On April 18, 2004, an altercation occurred when the prostitution customers complained about the price for sex. The police were called to respond, and Chavez - along with Armando Salas, a fourth co-defendant who remains a fugitive - left Jackson, Wyo., with the 13-year-old girl. They traveled to Phoenix, Ariz., but returned to Jackson about eight months later.

Jackson Police Department uncovered the sex trafficking of the girl in August 2006 when an individual, charged in an unrelated matter, came forward with information about the 13-year-old. The Jackson Police Department turned over the investigation to ICE and the FBI following the indictment of the three men on Sept. 21, 2006.

"Few crimes are more repugnant than sex trafficking a helpless and innocent girl," said Michael Masto, assistant special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Denver, Colo. "Our ICE agents will continue to work cooperatively with other law enforcement agencies to identify such victims, and to pursue the criminals who prey on them."

Sentencing for the three men is scheduled for March 28 in Cheyenne, Wyo. They face up to life in prison. The three defendants face deportation after they serve their sentences.

Several of the men who had sex with the girl have been identified and may also face charges.

The 13-year-old victim has been placed in temporary foster care by the Wyoming Department of Family Services, and is pending permanent foster care.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Leschuck, District of Wyoming, prosecuted the case.

-- ICE --