Monterey County man sentenced for selling teenage family member for $12,000
A Monterey County man was recently sentenced to five years in state prison for selling a teen family member for $12,000, prosecutors said.
Castroville resident Obdulio Aparicio, 38, was convicted of one count of human trafficking of a minor for commercial sex purposes, a felony offense, one count of child abuse, and one count of misdemeanor domestic violence, the Monterey County District Attorney's Office said in a statement Tuesday.
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office learned in April 2023 that Aparicio sold a 14-year-old family member to Javier Saavedra. Investigators said Aparicio had negotiated the sale of the female victim for $12,000. At the time of the report, she was living with Saavedra.
Investigation also revealed that Aparicio had battered his wife by pushing her down, which caused a bruise and laceration to her elbow, prosecutors said.
Besides his prison sentence, Aparicio will have to register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life, the District Attorney's office said.
Saavedra, meanwhile, was convicted in October 2023 of committing statutory rape and oral copulation of a person under 18 years of age, both felony offenses. He was sentenced to 270 days in jail, three years of felony probation, and was ordered to attend a sex offender treatment program.