El Dorado Hills Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking of a Minor

SACRAMENTO, CA—Acting United States Attorney Lawrence G. Brown announced today that RISHI SANWAL, 24, of El Dorado Hills, Calif., pleaded guilty before Senior United States District Judge Edward J. Garcia to sex trafficking of children.

This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department.

According to Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Reardon, who is prosecuting the case, from March 18, 2008, until March 25, 2008, SANWAL used force, fraud, and coercion to cause a 17-year-old girl to engage in prostitution.

SANWAL gave the victim the name “Amy” and used that name when he posted ads on the Craigslist “erotic services” section. He took the victim from her El Dorado home to the Bay Area, before returning to Rocklin, Calif. and posting Craigslist advertisement for her from there. SANWAL and the victim then returned to the Bay Area, where he posted additional listings advertising the minor girl for sex.

SANWAL is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Garcia on August 21, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. The maximum statutory penalty is no less than 10 years in prison and up to life, a $250,000 fine, and a life term of supervised release. As a result of his plea, he will also be required to register as a sex offender. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables and any applicable statutory sentencing factors.