Federal prosecutors allege that a man known as “El Perro” operated a human trafficking ring in Baton Rouge for more than two years, using WhatsApp to attract clients and lure victims to two brothels off of Nicholson Drive.

“El Perro” has been identified as Jesus Lopez, a 45-year-old Honduran national who also went by the alias Pedro Vargas. The women under his control referred to him as “Fran,” according to court documents.

On Wednesday, a federal grand jury indicted Lopez on multiple counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, as well as coercing and enticing to travel for interstate prostitution. Two Honduran women, Zaira Lopez-Olivia, 23, and Kirsis Castellanos-Kirington, 30, face similar charges for assisting in the operation.

The arrests, made in October, were the resul

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