Man pleads guilty to his role in sex trafficking conspiracy
BY DAVID HARPER World Staff Writer
Thursday, April 26, 2012
4/26/12 at 4:00 AM
A man has pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in a sex-trafficking conspiracy in which he said women came to Tulsa and were "forced, defrauded or coerced by others" to prostitute themselves.
Dovereyne "Tony" Velasquez-Lopez, 29, stated in his plea agreement that from March 2011 until Jan. 19, he "maintained females at an apartment in Tulsa for the purpose of their participation in a commercial sex trafficking venture."
Velasquez-Lopez said in the document that he collected money from customers and then gave the men poker chips to give to the women. He stated in the plea agreement that on a weekly basis he would pay a portion of the profits to a co-conspirator, whom he did not specify in the pleading.
He claimed not to be a leader of the plot and that "co-conspirators told me how to operate the commercial sex trafficking venture and to report any problems to them."
Velasquez-Lopez, who is scheduled to be sentenced July 31, became the third defendant to plead guilty in the case. Charges are pending against three other people in federal court in Tulsa.
A grand jury alleges that the conspiracy involved the recruitment, enticement and transportation of women for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts and that force, fraud and coercion were used to get them to participate.
All of the known victims are from Mexico or Central America, Assistant U.S. Attorney Trent Shores said.
Besides Oklahoma, the conspiracy involved activity in Tennessee, Kansas, Missouri and Florida, according to the most recent indictment in the case.
David Harper 918-581-8359
david.harper@tulsaworld.com
