St. Charles police arrest 5 in human trafficking case in suburbs, Chicago

ST. CHARLES, Ill. — Five people have been charged in a months-long human trafficking investigation in several western suburbs.

The charges were announced Thursday by the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office and the St. Charles Police Department.

Between Feb. 17 and Wednesday, the five people charged allegedly commercially sex trafficked seven people by causing or threatening harm to at least one person, according to a news release.

It all started when officials said they found a brothel in St. Charles, which led them to a bigger enterprise that operated in Aurora, Chicago, Elgin, Hanover Park, unincorporated Palatine and South Elgin.

On Wednesday, they said 10 women were taken into protective custody.

All of them, officials said, are from South America and were flown to the United States for trafficking purposes.

Hector Briseno, 54, of Chicago, Christian Hurtado, 27, of Elgin, Daniel Hurtado, 26, of South Elgin, Martha P. Hurtado-Hernandez, 57, of Chicago, and Rigoberto Parra, 46, of Aurora, were all charged, according to officials.

Briseno is charged with the following, according to a news release from the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.

• Aggravated involuntary servitude, a Class X Felony
• Trafficking in persons for labor, a Class 1 Felony
• 3 counts of Involuntary servitude, all Class 1 Felonies
• 7 counts of Involuntary servitude, all Class 4 Felonies
• 4 counts of Promoting prostitution for profit, all Class 4 Felonies

The other four people arrested have been charged with the following, according to a news release from the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.

• Aggravated involuntary servitude, a Class X Felony
• Trafficking in persons for labor, a Class 1 Felony
• 3 counts of Involuntary servitude, all Class 1 Felonies
• 5 counts of Involuntary servitude, all Class 4 Felonies

“I wish to commend the St. Charles Police Department for recognizing this situation as human
trafficking and not one in which people are simply charged for sex acts and treated as offenders
and not victims,” Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser said in the release. “The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office is committed to working collaboratively with law
enforcement to identify human trafficking and to eliminate it immediately.”