FOND DU LAC, Wis. — A woman was convicted of sex trafficking her 12-year-old daughter in Fond du Lac County Court on Monday.
34-year-old Elia Antonio pled guilty to felony charges of human trafficking and failure to protect a child, and two misdemeanor counts of bail jumping.
Investigators found she provided her daughter to co-defendant Juan Carlos Rocha-Mejia on March 18, 2024 to be sexually assaulted in exchange for $250.
A criminal complaint alleges 31-year-old Rocha-Mejia assaulted the 12-year-old after blindfolding and binding her in the back of a van in Oakfield. The victim fought him off and escaped the vehicle, then ran to a nearby home where the homeowner called 911.
The complaint also says Antonio hid a phone in the van and could hear her daughter screaming during the encounter. Antonio told authorities she attempted to locate her daughter but did not call 911.
Rocha-Mejia is scheduled to stand trial June 23. He pled not guilty to 1st degree child sexual assault – contact with a child under age 16, child enticement, false imprisonment, and strangulation and suffocation in October.
Fond du Lac County Judge Laura Lavey revoked Antonio’s bond. Her sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 21, where she could be sentenced to over 52 years in prison.
According to the Fond du Lac District Attorney’s Office, Antonio and Rocha-Mejia were illegally in the United States.
“Today is a step towards justice for the survivor and holding the defendant accountable for her despicable actions involving her own child,” Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney said in a press release.
