Patricia Munoz was one of four people charged in a human trafficking case involving a 15-year-old prostitute
Patricia Munoz NEWARK -- A Jersey City woman was sentenced on Thursday to three years in state prison for assisting an adult woman to work as a prostitute in Hudson County and human trafficking charges against her in connection with a teenage victim were dismissed.
Patricia Munoz, 26, received the sentence after pleading guilty in Essex County on Feb. 17 to a charge of promoting prostitution. Prosecutors recommended the three-year prison sentence as part of a plea agreement.
With credit for nearly two years of time served, Munoz will likely be released on parole in the coming months, according to her attorney, Damon McDougal.
During Thursday's hearing, McDougal said Munoz had been a victim of sexual exploitation at an early age and said she is "willing to take responsibility for the choice she made to engage in prostitution."
McDougal said Munoz will make better choices in her life going forward, and she is very unlikely to repeat such criminal behavior.
"She is a young woman with a bright future ahead of her," McDougal told Superior Court Judge Richard Sules.
Munoz was one of four people charged in a human trafficking case in Essex County involving the recruitment of a 15-year-old girl to work as a prostitute.
Authorities have said Munoz met the girl at a party in May 2013 and later introduced her to Charles P. Torres for the purpose of the girl becoming a prostitute. But under her plea agreement, the human trafficking and related charges against Munoz in connection with that victim were dismissed.
In pleading guilty, Munoz admitted to encouraging and helping an adult woman to work as a prostitute in Hudson County between May and August of 2013. Munoz said she posted pictures of the woman in online advertisements and drove her to various locations for her to engage in sexual acts for money.
"I advertised her on websites," Munoz said during the Feb. 17 hearing. "I took her on calls."
The main defendant in the case, Charles P. Torres, 56, of North Bergen, was sentenced on Jan. 21 to 20 years in state prison for recruiting the 15-year-old girl to work as a prostitute in Essex and Hudson counties. He had pleaded guilty to human trafficking and related offenses.
As part of a plea deal, Torres must serve the entire sentence without the chance of being released on parole, and prosecutors dismissed the charges against his son, Charles B. Torres, 29, of Ridgefield Park.
The third defendant, Victor Reyes, 41, of Union City, the brother of Charles P. Torres, pleaded guilty on Jan. 4 to third-degree money laundering in exchange for a recommended sentence of probation.
Reyes admitted to collecting $500 in North Bergen on Sept. 4, 2013 after Torres had asked him to pick up the money. Torres has said he spoke with Reyes by phone while Torres was in custody at the Essex County jail and he asked Reyes to pick up money owed to Torres as part of the prostitution business.
But Reyes on Feb. 19 indicated he wanted to pursue a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Sules is expected to rule on that motion on April 15 and, if he denies it, Sules would then sentence Reyes.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.