Men Charged With Transporting Prostitutes To Vermont Farms

BRATTLEBORO, Vt - Federal prosecutors have charged two men with transporting several Hispanic women from New York to Vermont to have sex with farm workers.

Alejandro Enrique Young-Hernandez, 53, of Hyde Park, Vermont, appeared Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Burlington on a conspiracy charge of intent to have the women, most in their early to mid-twenties, engage in prostitution at various farms, Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Ross said on Thursday.

According to the criminal complaint, Young-Hernandez, also known as Alex Young, met a Mexican man in October named Jose Tomas Flores-Rocha, also 53, who prosecutors said was in the country unlawfully.

Prosecutors alleged that the men began working together to arrange so-called "tricks" for Vermont farm workers at $60 per sexual act, with Flores-Rocha bringing the handful of women from New York for that purpose.

Flores-Rocha was arrested near a farm in Vermont on March 16 while traveling with a female illegal alien from Mexico who was working as a prostitute.

Prosecutors said he also had a ledger with clients' and prostitutes' names, farm addresses, and dates and times of services rendered.

Flores-Rocha pleaded guilty on June 14 to transporting the Mexican woman for prostitution and as part of a plea, admitted to having driven more than five women to Vermont for that purpose. He agreed to serve 18 months in jail, with his sentencing set for October 18.

U.S. Magistrate Judge John Conroy set Young-Hernandez next court appearance for July 18.

If convicted, Young-Hernandez faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.

(Reporting by Zach Howard; Editing by Chris Michaud and Greg McCune)

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