The U.S. attorney's office says the leader of a sex trafficking conspiracy in Kentucky has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. A statement says 38-year-old Marco Antonio Flores-Benitez has been sentenced after pleading guilty this month to conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking.
A co-defendant, Roxana Serna-Olea, who is 36, was sentenced on Wednesday to 46 months in prison. She pleaded guilty to persuading someone to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution.
Two others have entered guilty pleas in the case and are awaiting sentencing.
According to court documents, the defendants were accused of recruiting Spanish-speaking women from North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Maryland to become prostitutes.