A Hispanic illegal immigrant who is a member of the MS-13 gang has been found guilty of trafficking a 12-year-old girl for sex

A federal jury in Alexandria convicted 24-year-old Jose Ciro Juarez-Santamaria of conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation of a minor for prostitution. Juarez-Santamaria is from El Salvador, where he joined MS-13, and is in the United States illegally, according to prosecutors. He met the 12-year-old girl, who had run away from her home, at a Halloween party in 2009, prosecutors said. The girl had asked him to help her find a place to stay. Court records say that Juarez-Santamaria made the girl work as a prostitute from October to December 2009 and drove her to clients in Northern Virginia, Maryland and the District. "No child should ever have to suffer what this victim endured, and we will continue to pursue MS-13 and other criminal organizations that prey upon young girls and enslave them through sex trafficking," Neil MacBride, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a statement. Juarez-Santamaria provided the girl with clothes, makeup and condoms, according to court documents. Prosecutors say that the girl had sex with clients at homes, hotels and businesses throughout the area, and at times was being prostituted every day of the week. Juarez-Santamaria is not the only MS-13 member to be associated with prostitution activities. At least two other members of the gang have been charged in Alexandria with sex-trafficking-related offenses in 2011. Alonso Bruno Cornejo Ormeno, 21, was indicted and accused of operating a prostitution business and transporting underage girls for sex. Another member, Alexander Rivas, was charged with running a prostitution ring using runaway girls. He pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Juarez-Santamaria faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and could get a life sentence.