MONTEREY COUNTY, California — A 38-year-old man from California has been sentenced to five years in a state correctional facility after pleading guilty to charges of trafficking a 14-year-old family member for sex, Monterey County authorities announced on April 1st, 2024.
Obdulio Aparicio faced justice in Monterey County Superior Court before Judge Andrew Liu, who delivered the verdict, marking the culmination of this disturbing case. Aparicio was found guilty of selling the teenage relative to another individual for $12,000, knowing that the teen would be subjected to sexual exploitation.
The sentence comes following Aparicio’s admission of guilt to two felonies and a misdemeanor, including human trafficking of a minor for commercial sex purposes, child abuse, and misdemeanor domestic violence. Notably, these convictions marked Aparicio’s first brushes with the law, as emphasized by the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.
Read more: How to File a Claim and Seek Justice as a Sex Trafficking Survivor in California
In addition to the prison term, Aparicio will be mandated to register as a sexual offender for the remainder of his life, underscoring the gravity of his offenses.
This case of teenage sex trafficking initially came to light on April 28, 2023, when officials at the North Monterey County School District raised concerns about possible child sexual abuse transpiring at a residence on Merritt Street in Castroville, California. Upon receiving the report, deputies from the Patrol Division launched an investigation into the matter, while detectives from the Investigations Division assumed responsibility for probing these allegations.
