FOND DU LAC, Wis. (WFRV) – Fond du Lac District Attorney Eric J. Toney announced that a mother and her boyfriend were sentenced on Thursday to maximum prison terms for human trafficking and other crimes.
According to a release from District Attorney Toney, Elia Antonio and her boyfriend, Juan Rocha Mejia, were sentenced to 34 years and 40 years of prison, respectively.
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The charges were as follows:
- Elia Antonio
- Human Trafficking
- Failure to Protect a Child
- Bail Jumping
- Juan Rocha Mejia
- Sexual Assault relating to human trafficking
Rocha Mejia, according to the release, paid $250 to his girlfriend, Antonio, to sexually assault her 12-year-old child. District Attorney Toney provided the following statement in the release.
“Elia Antonio failed as a mother and has forfeited the title of mom by trafficking her own child for sex. Rocha Mejia committed a horrific assault from a position of trust in paying $250 to rape a child. Both defendants were illegally in the United Stated, with Rocha Mejia entering the United States in 2021. Judge Lavey made it clear that children are not for sale and that if the mother had a half the bravery of the survivor this would never have happened.” – Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric J. Toney
Judge Laura Lavey stated at sentencing that motherhood is the greatest gift in all of human existence and that Antonio failed in a heinous way.
“Not only did you fail to protect her,” Judge Lavey said. “You actively participated in trafficking her.”
Antonio will spend 20 years under extended supervision, as will Rocha Mejia.
