Middlesex County Man Sentenced to 311 Months in Prison for Persuading, Inducing and Enticing Victims for Prostitution

NEWARK, N.J. - A Middlesex County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 311 years in prison for persuading, inducing, and enticing women to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Jose Torres, 46, was previously convicted of all four counts of a second superseding indictment following a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti, who imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to the documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:

From May 2015 to October 2019, Torres persuaded, induced and enticed female victims, often commercial sex workers, to travel from out of state locations, including Canada and New York, to engage in prostitution with him. In each instance, Torres trolled prostitution websites and targeted out-of-state sex workers. He lured them to New Jersey with promises of large sums of payment. Once the women were in New Jersey, Torres refused to pay them. When the victims asked for payment, Torres became aggressive, often assaulting and raping them.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Martinotti sentenced Torres to 15 years of supervised release and imposed a $5,000 special assessment for trafficking.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, and special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker, with the investigation leading to the sentencing.

The government is represented by Bruce P. Keller, Special Counsel to the U.S. Attorney, in Newark.