Man accused of sex trafficking women on Las Vegas Strip
A man has been arrested on sex trafficking on the Strip after police said he coerced two women to work as prostitutes by threatening to report them as undocumented immigrants.
Byron Ochoa, 56, of Las Vegas, was arrested Wednesday as part of a Las Vegas police vice investigation on the 3600 block of Las Vegas Boulevard South. An arrest report for Ochoa states officers posing as sex buyers were told by Ochoa that he could have two women go to their hotel rooms and have sex in exchange for money.
Police said Ochoa then arranged for two women to meet with the men. Both women spoke only Spanish but confirmed to the undercover officers they would have sex for money, according to the report. Ochoa and the two women were then taken into custody.
One woman, according to police, told officers she met Ochoa at a bar and that he wanted her to work as a prostitute.
“Byron began to coerce her about a month ago by threatening her that he would tell her employer she was undocumented, and they would fire her,” police said in the report.
The second woman offered a similar story, saying she borrowed money from Ochoa and that he then said she had to accompany men on dates.
“Byron threatened to make the government aware of her being in the United States without documents,” police said in the report.
Police interviewed Ochoa, who denied trafficking the women. He said he was simply a promoter and that the women were supposed to convince the men to go to a strip club but not have sex.
Ochoa was booked at the Clark County Detention Center on two counts each of sex trafficking and living from the earnings of a prostitute. No criminal complaint in the case has been filed. Las Vegas Justice Court records indicate Ochoa is scheduled to appear June 30 for a status check.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
