SACRAMENTO—Three Sacramento men in their twenties have entered plea deals for prostituting two girls in December 2012 over a nine-day period.
According to the district attorney’s office, on Friday, May 15, Robert Ivory, 22, entered a no-contest plea to three counts of child sex trafficking and an allegation of gang affiliation. Lucas Romero, 29, entered no contest to accessory after the fact; and a third man, Lucas’ brother Johnny Romero, 25, pleaded no contest to being in an active street gang.
The three men took three minor girls to several local motels between December 12th and 21st, 2012, and provided them with alcohol and drugs. They posted online photos of the girls and set up sexual encounters with two of the victims. One of the victims was eventually able to contact her mother, who then called the police.
Under the plea agreement, the district attorney’s office said Ivory will receive 17 years in prison, while Johnny Romero will receive a six-year sentence, and Lucas Romero a two-year sentence.
Lucas Romero is scheduled to be sentenced on June 19. Superior Court Judge Geoffrey Goodman will sentence Ivory and Johnny Romero on September 25.
Records from the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department show that Lucas Romero, in the intervening time from his initial arrest in this case, was also arrested on domestic violence charges. On December 23, 2013, he was booked for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or co-habitant, false imprisonment by violence, physical abuse, and driving with a license suspended for drunk driving, along with a felony parole violation. In prior years, he had several arrests for DUI or driving with a suspended license, and in June of 2007 he was charged with possessing marijuana and other drugs for sale, possessing an illegal weapon and altering it to remove the serial number, and had funds seized from participating in organized crime.
Johnny Romero’s past history of arrests includes a 2009 charge of being a minor driving under the influence, and a March 2010 arrest for probation violations, being a prior felon carrying a loaded firearm. and street terrorism. He has also faced several charges of violating parole in 2011 and 2012. Robert Ivory’s history includes an arrest for vehicle theft in August 2011, resisting or obstructing an officer in January 2012, and carrying a loaded firearm and resisting arrest in June of 2013.
