Copyright Baton Rouge Advocate
Federal prosecutors allege that a man known as “El Perro” operated a human trafficking ring in Baton Rouge for more than two years, using WhatsApp to attract clients and lure victims to two brothels off of Nicholson Drive. “El Perro” has been identified as Jesus Lopez, a 45-year-old Honduran national who also went by the alias Pedro Vargas. The women under his control referred to him as “Fran,” according to court documents. On Wednesday, a federal grand jury indicted Lopez on multiple counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, as well as coercing and enticing to travel for interstate prostitution. Two Honduran women, Zaira Lopez-Olivia, 23, and Kirsis Castellanos-Kirington, 30, face similar charges for assisting in the operation. The arrests, made in October, were the result of a yearslong investigation by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. The investigation According to an affidavit obtained from the U.S. Middle District Court in Louisiana, detectives with the Sheriff's Office received a tip in August 2024 that women — possibly underage — were being forced into prostitution at a residence on the 900 block of Aster Street, near Nicholson Drive. The source provided WhatsApp messages advertising commercial sex using a series of photographs showing women in lingerie or naked, purportedly of various nationalities. The messages, which detectives later learned were known as “The Menu,” showcased new women each week, records say. Clients were instructed to contact someone identified as “El Perro” to book appointments, then again upon arrival at the address. Investigators discovered that “El Perro” also operated a second brothel at an apartment down the street on Nicholson Drive. Surveillance teams observed groups of Hispanic men, ages 18 to 60, coming and going from the property — with sometimes five at a time waiting outside to enter, according to the affidavit. Traffic stops of several vehicles leaving the Aster Street location confirmed the operation. The men told officers they had contacted “El Perro” after receiving photos of women through WhatsApp. They said prices typically ranged from $40 to $60, and they had discovered the brothel through friends and coworkers, records say. Connecting the dots In October 2024, detectives obtained search warrants for WhatsApp and AT&T records, tracing “El Perro’s” number to a phone registered under the name Pedro Vargas. Further investigation revealed a May 2023 report filed with Baton Rouge Police, in which an anonymous Hispanic woman said a man named Jesus Lopez — using the same number associated with Vargas — had texted that “he sells women of all ages for sex,” the affidavit says. Using the phone number, investigators located Lopez’s residence and vehicles registered in his name. Surveillance soon showed Lopez, along with Lopez-Olivia and Castellanos-Kirington, moving belongings from the Aster residence to the Nicholson apartment. The trio was later observed entering the apartment late at night and making a trip to a nearby bank. Detectives believe Castellanos-Kirington and Lopez-Olivia collected cash from women working at the Nicholson location. Surveillance footage also captured Lopez and Lopez-Olivia driving to and from Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, at times picking up or dropping off unidentified females. Undercover work In September, according to court records, a confidential informant entered the Nicholson Drive apartment equipped with audio and video devices. The informant told investigators that Lopez had sent him “The Menu,” a weekly message circulated every Monday promoting new women for sex. At the apartment, the informant called Lopez and was told to knock on a back door, where a woman answered. After refusing sexual services, the informant learned from the woman that Lopez never entered the apartment himself, but always seemed to be around. She added that he kept a constant watch through video cameras installed outside, the affidavit says. On Oct. 9, EBRSO and HSI agents raided the Nicholson apartment and three other locations, including residences on Stan Avenue and Shelley Street in Baton Rouge. Inside, they found phones, receipts, passports, identification cards and bank documents linked to the suspects, according to court records. At the Nicholson apartment, agents recovered condoms, lubricants, lingerie and other commercial sex items. Records add that two women were found inside and taken to LSU Police headquarters, and later spoke with HSI Forensic Interviewers from the HSI Victim Assistance Program, court records show. The victims According to federal court records, one victim, a Guatemalan national, told HSI investigators she was working as a housemaid in Houston when Lopez recruited her. She said she needed money for her daughter’s visa and traveled between Houston and Baton Rouge three times. Known to her as “Fran,” Lopez allowed her to keep half of what clients paid but never let her leave the apartment. She said she feared Lopez would kill her if she tried to escape or tell anyone, even when she was back in Houston. The second victim, a Colombian national who had lived in New Jersey, said in an interview that a friend introduced her to Lopez after she complained of financial hardship. She was told she would be giving massages but discovered upon arrival that she would be forced into sex work. She added that she planned to flee the day police raided the apartment but admitted she was too afraid to leave, records say. During questioning, Lopez-Olivia confessed to transporting women to and from the airport, collecting their earnings, and designing “The Menu.” All three defendants were living in the U.S. illegally, according to court records. They were arrested on Oct. 13 and booked the same day in the East Baton Rouge Parish jail, before being later moved into federal custody.
