Pair accused of sex trafficking indicted by Rockland County grand jury
News 12 learned Wednesday afternoon that 42-year-old Negri Sanz Del Orbe and 31-year-old Luis Mendez-Valdez, both from Nanuet, were indicted by a Rockland County grand jury for charges stemming from alleged sex trafficking operation at a home on Smith Road.
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News 12 learned Wednesday afternoon that 42-year-old Negri Sanz Del Orbe and 31-year-old Luis Mendez-Valdez, both from Nanuet, have been indicted by a Rockland County Grand jury for charges stemming from alleged sex trafficking operation at a home on Smith Road.
The charges for Sanz Del Orbe include sex trafficking, promoting prostitution and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Mendez-Valdez faces promoting prostitution in the third degree.
The relationship between the two is still unclear.
They were both in Clarkstown Justice Court Wednesday in front of Judge Aimee Pollak before news of the indictment.
Sanz Del Orbe was crying during her appearance.
News 12 spoke with Clarkstown's Police Chief Jeff Wanamaker about the department's operation.
"One thing I do want to stress, it's happening in our backyard," said Chief Wanamaker. "You see something happening, make a call to the police department."
Chief Jeff Wanamaker credits the community for the success of their undercover operation.
Wanamaker says it took two weeks from the time they got an anonymous tip to the arrests.
"The surveillance, they saw a lot of activity coming in and out that's not normal for someone to live in a house there. It was all different strangers. Different, ya know, men, that we're going in," Wanamaker says.
Wanamaker adds they found a sex trafficking organization that was exploiting vulnerable women there.
He says several children, under 8 years old, were taken by Child Protective Services because they were in the home while these alleged activities were happening.
News 12 had visited the home and found no one was there, but there were notices on the door warning Sanz Del Orbe of legal action because she was behind on rent.
There were also a number of bikes and children's toys on the side of the property.
Clarkstown encourages the public to submit tips, including through 411.
