Five illegal immigrants charged with trafficking 14-year-old girl across America

Five foreign nationals in the U.S. illegally were arrested Monday in Macon County, Missouri and charged with endangering the welfare of a child who was with them.

The men were allegedly transporting a 14-year-old girl from Indiana to California to meet a man the girl met online, according to local KTVO news 21.

Her father previously reported he saw the teen enter a black SUV, which then drove off. He subsequently alerted Cass County law enforcement in Indiana about his missing daughter. The sheriff’s office began tracking the girl’s location even before the black SUV left Illinois and crossed into Missouri.

According to the probable cause statement filed by the arresting officer, the sheriff in Indiana pinged the girl’s cellphone number and tracked her moving westbound on U.S. 36 near Hannibal, Missouri. Indiana authorities contacted the Missouri Highway Patrol, which then notified local law enforcement.

Minutes later, Shelbina police notified the Highway Patrol they observed a black SUV with Texas registration acting suspiciously by slowing down from 64 miles per hour when approached by a local police car. Ten minutes later the highway patrol, assisted by Macon County deputies, stopped the vehicle and found the missing girl.  

The probable cause statements say all five men are in the United States illegally and a pose “flight risk” if allowed free on bail. Missouri prosecutors have requested no bond be issued for the defendants, noting that, along with the risk of flight, the offense involves a minor and the defendants may pose a risk to the minor victim if set free.   

Arrested were Arturo Eustaquio, 41, of Mexico, who was driving the vehicle when it was stopped; Noe Guzman Hernandez, 24, also from Mexico; Marlon Aguilar, 44, from Honduras; Daniel Ruiz Lopez, 19, from Honduras; and Carlos Funez, 56, also from Honduras. They’ve each been charged with endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree, a class D felony.  

In Missouri, class D felonies are punishable by seven years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.  

The criminal complaint alleges the defendants “knowingly acted in a manner that created a substantial risk to the body and health of M.G., a child less than seventeen years of age, by taking her from her home and transporting her across multiple states without her parents [sic] consent to meet with an unknown adult male who she met on the internet.” 

There was no sexual contact between the men and the girl, according to the charges filed by the prosecutor.  Police report the girl was put into protective custody and was in good health, said KY3.com.  

A bail hearing has been scheduled for Friday.