Aug. 6, 2025 By Bill Parry

An Astoria man was sentenced in Brooklyn federal court to nearly 16 years in prison last month for running a Mexican sex trafficking crew for years.

Hugo Hernandez-Velazquez, 48, was extradited from Mexico, where he had a second home, back to the United States in February 2021, for sex trafficking multiple victims by force, fraud, and coercion. He pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking in April 2023, and he will be deported back to Mexico after completing his sentence. Hernandez-Velazquez is the last member of the family-run sex trafficking ring to be sentenced.

“For years, the defendant and his siblings operated an illegal, abusive, and exploitative sex trafficking operation that stripped victims of their dignity and subjected them to inhumane violenc

See Full Page