MONTGOMERY, AL—Three Montgomery residents were indicted by a federal grand jury for their involvement in an interstate prostitution ring being operated out of an apartment in Montgomery, announced U.S. Attorney George Beck from the Middle District of Alabama. The three individuals indicted were: Bernabe Carbajal, 37; Andres Hernandez Gomez, 53; and Saul Garrido Eligio, 34.

According to court documents, Gomez and Eligio were a part of a ring that conspired to transport females across state-lines for the purpose of prostitution. The conspiracy took place from 2014 to October 2015 and included using females who were illegal aliens working as prostitutes at various locations, transporting the females from state to state, harboring the females in apartments being operated as brothels, coordinating meetings between the females and the males who paid for sexual services, and collecting payment for the sexual services provided by the females. Evidence shows that an apartment in Montgomery was maintained as a brothel for the females to stay in and engage in prostitution.

Specifically, it is alleged that on October 26, 2015 Carbajal enticed a female to travel with him to the apartment in Montgomery from Georgia to engage in prostitution.

After arriving at the apartment and while Gomez was supervising the brothel, the female engaged in prostitution and provided services to approximately 44 customers over a three-day period. Gomez’s duties at the brothel included, staying at the apartment, overseeing the operations of the brothel, supervising the prostitutes, screening the customers, collecting money from the customers, and reporting the number of customers.

Eligio participated in the conspiracy by traveling to the brothel to pick up money from Gomez and providing condoms to the females when needed.

If convicted, Carbajal faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison for the transportation charge, a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison for the enticement charge, and a $250,000 fine for each charge. Gomez and Eligio each face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge. All three defendants are in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending trial.

The case against Gomez and Eligio is scheduled for trial in January 2016 before Chief United States District Judge W. Keith Watkins. Carbajal is presently in Georgia facing charges for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy to transport a person in interstate commerce for the purpose of prostitution in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This was a joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), including the State Bureau of Investigations, Department of Public Safety, and the Fusion Center, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, Montgomery Police Department, Autauga County Sheriff’s Office, Prattville Police Department, Elmore County Sheriff’s Office, Central Alabama Drug Task Force, Auburn Police Department, Millbrook Police Department, Dothan Police Department, Alabama National Guard Counterdrug Program, Albertville Police Department, Marshall County District Attorney’s Office, Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, Marshall County Against Domestic Violence Coalition, and the 19th Circuit District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jerusha T. Adams and Hollie Worley are prosecuting the case.