Can you put a price on your child’s innocence? For one dad, the answer was apparently yes, and the price tag was measly. The good news, however, is that both he and another man have been arrested after police discovered that the father had allegedly sold his child for a rather small monetary reward.
Diego Alonzo-Perez, a 34-year-old father living in Beaver Dam, Kentucky, landed in hot water when he became a grandfather. Unfortunately for Alonzo-Perez and his daughter, who gave birth to a baby boy, it wasn’t the joyous occasion that usually comes with welcoming a grandchild. Instead, the baby’s birth led to the discovery of a heinous and unimaginable crime perpetrated by the girl’s own father.
According to The Blaze, the Kentucky State Police, along with social services, began an investigation after officials found out the girl had given birth. Although the girl’s identity has been kept private, it was revealed that she was just 15 years old, 14 News reported. What authorities uncovered resulted in both the girl and her baby being taken into foster care.
Through the course of the investigation, it was revealed that Diego Alonzo-Perez had allegedly sold his underage daughter to a 20-year-old man identified as Lucas Mateo. The girl began living with Mateo in August 2020 and was allegedly raped daily after the man bought her from her father, court documents claim.
Making matters worse, an arrest citation said Mateo only paid Alonzo-Perez a measly $8,000 for the girl, who he is accused of sexually abusing daily after Alonzo-Perez sold her to him. Thankfully, both men have since been arrested by police in Kentucky in the human trafficking case after it was revealed that the minor’s father had sold his own child.
Diego Alonzo-Perez was charged with human trafficking related to commercial sex activity after allegedly selling his juvenile daughter to another man for $8,000 for sexual purposes. Lucas Mateo, who allegedly bought the child for sex, was charged with 3rd-degree rape. After their arrests, both men were held at the Ohio County Detention Center in Hartford.
Kentucky State Police trooper Corey King said the incident was unprecedented for his department. “It’s really disheartening because we have for many years put the monster’s face on technology,” King explained. “Technology seems to be where all of these people tend to find our children, but in this situation, this was parents.”
As a father himself, the case really hit home for King. “Parents sold their child,” he said. “That in itself is new for us here, but it’s scary overall because now do some of these monsters have a face of a parent? That’s really scary to me as a parent,” King added. “It’s shocking to the community, it’s shocking to me as a law enforcement officer,” he continued. “But the reality is it exists, and it exists in small-town USA.”
Indeed, Kentucky has alarming human trafficking statistics, and it’s not just children, according to King, who claimed that many victims in his investigations are adults. “Kentucky ranks 26th in population, but we’re ninth in human trafficking,” the state trooper explained. “That is telling, that in ‘Small Town USA’ we have these problems here and in somewhat of a large scale.”
Thankfully, there is something we can do about it. Namely, if you see something, say something. “Anything that simply looks out of place, regardless of what crime it could follow under, if there is something not right — your eyes could save lives,” King said. According to the Kentucky State Police, there are signs of human trafficking to look for:
- May show signs of physical or mental abuse and appear fearful or submissive
- May not have control over their own money, ID, or personal possessions
- May not be able to speak on their own behalf or unable to leave on their own
- May not know what city or state they are in, or where they are living
- May work excessively long hours and can be found in restaurants, farming, massage parlors, and soliciting at hotels, parking lots, or house to house [Source: 44 News]
If you suspect anyone is involved in or is a victim of human trafficking, you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free hotline at 1-888-373-7888. Anti-Trafficking Hotline Advocates are available 24/7 to take reports of potential human trafficking. You can also text the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 233733 or chat the National Human Trafficking Hotline at this link. Of course, 911 is also an option for urgent needs. Whatever you do, do something. You might be the victim’s only hope.
