KENNER — Juven Pineda, 34, was ordered held without bond on June 10, 2024, in Kenner, Louisiana, after being charged with second-degree rape and human trafficking. Investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Pineda in March 2024, and North Carolina highway patrol detained him on the warrant on April 24, 2024.

Pineda was extradited into Kenner police custody by June 5. Jail records indicate he was booked on three counts of second-degree rape and one count of human trafficking. A Louisiana conviction for second-degree rape carries a prison sentence of five to 40 years, while human trafficking carries a 20-year sentence.

The charges followed an email received by investigators from a paralegal whose law firm represented a client, born in November 2002, who was allegedly sexually trafficked from Honduras to Kenner, Louisiana, through Mexico. The victim informed investigators that Pineda smuggled her into the United States in May 2019 when she was 16 years old. She also stated that Pineda had smuggled her father into the U.S.

Weeks after entering the U.S., the victim stated her father brought her to a home in New Orleans. She later moved into a home owned by Pineda near the New Orleans airport in Kenner. The victim stated that Pineda informed her she owed $13,500 due to debts she and her father incurred with him. She also stated that Pineda threatened physical harm to her family in Honduras if she did not settle the debt.

The victim stated Pineda told her she could settle the debt by becoming his "woman." According to the victim, this arrangement required her to clean his house, live with him as a couple, and endure repeated rapes. She also stated that Pineda brought her to North Carolina in early 2020 and raped her there. The victim told investigators that she was not free to leave Pineda.

Police Chief Keith Conley said, "If you see something, say something. Human trafficking thrives in silence. A single phone call could help save a victim from exploitation and abuse."