A month after a man and woman were arrested in connection with a Miami-Dade human trafficking bust, new charges have been filed and another woman has been arrested after authorities said the suspects tried to intimidate the teen victim in the case into changing her police statements.
The new charges stem from last month's arrest of 40-year-old Raul Antonio Jimenez-Rodriguez and 30-year-old Grettel Caceres-Crego, who face human trafficking and other charges.
According to police, the 19-year-old victim said Jimenez-Rodriguez and Caceres-Crego would post advertisements for her online and transport her to different hotels and motels in Miami-Dade County to engage in prostitution.
The victim said Jimenez-Rodriguez would lace her marijuana with crystal methamphetamine, unbeknownst to her. The drugs would "alter her state of mind and reality," allowing Jimenez-Rodriguez to facilitate more prostitution arrangements for her, a police report said.
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On Thursday, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office said 32-year-old Junet Infante-Madruga was arrested for her alleged involvement in trying to have the teen change her statements made to police and to destroy possible electronic evidence.
Recorded jail phone calls between Infante-Madruga and Jimenez-Rodriguez outlined the attempts to destroy evidence against Jimenez-Rodriguez, as well as instructions on how to intimidate the teen into recanting her police statements by threatening her family, prosecutors said.
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Infante-Madruga and Jimenez-Rodriguez are charged with tampering with a victim, conspiracy to tamper with a victim, attempted tampering with physical evidence and conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence.
“Witness tampering is always an attempt to undermine justice by corrupting our legal system," Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. "Those who would hope to undercut a legitimate search for the facts are only commenting on their own lack of integrity."
