Plea deals possible for 2 of 5 accused sex traffickers

Two of the five people charged following a law enforcement sweep of accused St. Charles sex traffickers had brief court appearances Thursday before both cases were continued to Feb. 6 – with the possibility of plea agreements for both.

Christian Hurtado, 29, of Elgin and Rigoberto Parra, 47, of Aurora were indicted on one count of involuntary servitude – a Class X felony – eight counts of trafficking in persons, one count of involuntary servitude in a lesser felony and four counts of promoting prostitution following their arrests July 20, 2023, in St. Charles, records show.

Attorney Liam Dixon, representing both Hurtado and Parra, asked Judge David Kliment for continuances.

In the Hurtado case, Kliment asked about scheduling the next date set for a plea or trial setting.

“We’re extremely close,” Dixon said. “We think we can get this resolved in about two weeks.”

Assistant State’s Attorney Christine Bayer agreed.

“If you did give us two weeks, I think we’ll have it – one way or the other,” Bayer said.

Regarding Parra’s case, Dixon said there was a possibility of a 402 conference, typically used for a plea agreement.

“I received an amended offer,” Dixon said regarding Parra’s case.

Both men are being held in the Kane County jail.

Back in July 2023, St. Charles police led the probe into breaking up a human trafficking syndicate, including the rescue of seven women who were being sex trafficked in brothels that were not only located in an west side apartment in St. Charles, but also in South Elgin, Elgin, Hanover Park, Palatine and Chicago.

In the process of the arrests, police rescued seven women, all from South American, ranging in age from their early 20s to early 30s, police said then.

At a press conference with police, Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser said human trafficking is defined in the law as the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex acts.

“Every year, millions of men, women and children are trafficked worldwide – and this includes Kane County,” Mosser said then. “It happens in every community with victims of all ages, races, gender or nationality. This is a systemic problem that needs our focus in law enforcement on stopping the traffickers from continuing their criminal enterprises.”

On Jan. 8, the other three charged – Martha P. Hurtado-Hernandez, 59, of Elgin; Daniel Hurtado, 27, of Elgin; and Hector Briseno, 55, of Chicago – also appeared before Kliment.

With a plea agreement possible, Hurtado-Hernandez’s case was continued to Feb. 26. Daniel Hurtado’s case was continued to Feb. 5 and Briseno’s to Feb. 26, records show.

The Class X felony is the most serious among the charges, punishable by six to 30 years in prison if convicted.