BOYNTON MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO TRAFFICKING OF TEEN GIRL
Authorities say he turned teen girl into Boynton prostitute.
BOYNTON BEACH — A suburban Boynton Beach man arrested in May for human trafficking has pleaded guilty to federal charges, according to court documents filed Friday.
Marco Orrego, 31, pleaded to one count each of sex trafficking of a minor and production of child pornography, records show. Prosecutors and attorneys for Orrego have agreed to a sentence of 20 years on each count to run concurrently. A judge still must agree to the terms of sentencing.
Sentencing guidelines allow for a prison term of 30 years to life to be imposed. On Friday, Orrego’s attorney filed a petition asking the court to agree to the more lenient sentence.
Orrego was arrested on state and federal charges in May after authorities alleged that he forced a teenage girl into prostitution. Investigators say he met the teen in April after responding to an advertisement on the website Backpage. Orrego had sex with the girl and took photographs of their encounter, authorities said.
He left his contact information with the teen, who reached out to him weeks later saying she needed a place to stay. After another sexual encounter, Orrego helped the girl set up another Backpage ad.
Authorities say Orrego paid for a room at the Homing Inn on Federal Highway in Boynton Beach, where the girl had sex with other men for money. The Homing Inn has denied that human trafficking of any kind takes place there.
Orrego collected all of the money from the sexual encounters, warning the teen at knifepoint not to leave the room without permission, police said.
Palm Beach County court records show that Orrego’s case in the state court is scheduled for a plea hearing Nov. 3.
State prosecutors decided to take no action on a charge of human trafficking and multiple counts of child pornography. He still faces three counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and one county of false imprisonment.
Orrego is one of at least 10 men arrested in Palm Beach and Martin counties on human trafficking charges. In January, the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office, the State Attorney’s Office and the FBI formed a task force dedicated to combating human trafficking.
According to the Polaris Project, an organization that tracks calls to the national human-trafficking hotline, Florida ranks third in the number of reported cases behind California and Texas.