Local Men Found Guilty of Trafficking Teenage Girls

Dimas Omar Hernandez and Franklin Rivera-MendietaDimas Omar Hernandez and Franklin Rivera-Mendieta (Submitted Images)

WEST CHESTER, PA — A jury found 36-year-old Dimas Omar Hernandez, aka “Adonys,” of Malvern, and 27-year-old Franklin Rivera-Mendieta, aka “Mono,” of Downingtown, guilty of trafficking teenage girls for sex at multiple locations in East Whiteland Township in 2020, announced the Chester County District Attorney’s Office. The two men were convicted Friday of corrupt organizations, trafficking minors, conspiracy, involuntary servitude, rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, kidnapping, sexual exploitation of children, and related charges.

A third co-defendant, 25-year-old Josue Sibrian Sanchez, “Sibrian,” of Malvern, already pled guilty. All three defendants will be sentenced at a later date.

Five other individuals who paid to have sex with the minor child and/or adult victim were also arrested in East Whiteland Township. They are: Diana Ordonez, age 27; Luis Cabrera Peralta, age 31; Nestor Ruiz, age 47; Juan Humberto Ortiz Ortiz, age 37; and Carlos Villatoro Gallegos, age 25.

“Dimas Hernandez and Franklin Rivera Mendieta trapped these vulnerable victims in a cycle of sexual abuse for the purpose of lining their pockets with money,” said Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan. “This kind of human degradation is deplorable. Both victims displayed tremendous courage in escaping from their captors and telling authorities what they had endured. We are very grateful for the persistence and dedication of the East Whiteland Township Police Department, Chester County Detectives, and Homeland Security Investigations. Through their hard work and tireless efforts, we were able to dismantle this criminal organization and bring justice to these victims.”

According to statements made in open court, on May 28, 2020, East Whiteland Township Police were contacted by the Fairfax Virginia Sheriff’s Office about a missing 14-year-old child whose mother reported receiving a Facebook message from her daughter that said she “didn’t want to be here anymore.” The child asked her mother to pick her up at a Wawa on Lancaster Avenue in East Whiteland. The child was able to escape and was rescued by law enforcement on May 30, 2020. She told police that she had been held against her will and forced to have sex for money with multiple people each day at three locations in East Whiteland Township. She told her mother that she would be killed if she did not comply.

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The child told investigators that she was recruited by a woman named Tiny at a party in Washington D.C., picked up by one of the co-defendants in Maryland where she was living, and brought to an apartment in Malvern. She said Tiny and one of the co-defendants took her to Walmart to buy “sexy clothes” and then took pictures of her that were used for advertising her for sex.

A second victim, an 18-year-old from Virginia, was also identified during the investigation. She was promised a job in a bar but instead was brought to East Whiteland Township to have sex for money. She reported that during the time she was held against her will, she was forced to ingest drugs, sexually assaulted by one of the co-defendants, and threatened with bodily harm. She told investigators that she managed to escape after being held for three weeks in February and March 2020.

Both victims told detectives that one of the co-defendants served as a doorman and collected money from individuals who paid to have sex.

Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan commended the East Whiteland Township Police Department and Chester County Detectives for the investigation which led to the successful prosecution of Hernandez and Rivera-Mendieta. Deputy District Attorney Erin O’Brien and Assistant District Attorney Karen Brindisi prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

Call Childline at 1-800-932-0313 if you suspect a child is being abused. Learn to recognize, react to, and report child sexual abuse by taking a free virtual Stewards of Children workshop. Contact County Coordinator Katie Walters at kwalters@chesco.org or 610-344-6115 for more information.

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