East Hartford Man Charged with Sex Trafficking of a Minor

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal grand jury in Hartford has returned an indictment charging ALEXANDER PEDRAZA, 26, of East Hartford, with one count of sex trafficking of a minor.

The indictment was returned on May 24, 2017, and was unsealed on May 26 when PEDRAZA was arrested. Following his arrest, PEDRAZA appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel in Bridgeport and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges. PEDRAZA was ordered detained pending a bond hearing that will be scheduled for later this week.

According to the indictment, PEDRAZA recruited, harbored and transported a minor victim, who was under the age of 18, to engage in commercial sex acts between approximately March 5 and March 12, 2017.

If convicted of the offense, PEDRAZA faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of life imprisonment.

U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the East Windsor Police Department, through the Connecticut Human Trafficking Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neeraj N. Patel and Sarala V. Nagala.