HOUSTON – Federal investigators are asking for help while they try to identify a man wanted for questioning in connection with the kidnapping and sexual assault of a woman from Panama City Beach, Florida.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said the woman was the victim of a multi-state human trafficking and sex-trafficking ring that operated from Mexico and into the United States.
Officials said the trafficking ring has ties to Texas.
According to the FBI, on Monday, 30 year-old Jacobo Feliciano-Francisco, a/k/a "Uriel Castillo-Ochoa", a/k/a "Kiko," was arrested after a Federal Grand Jury in the Northern District of Florida returned a five-count indictment charging him with federal criminal violations related to kidnapping, retaliating against a witness, and transporting an individual in interstate commerce for prostitution. Feliciano-Francisco is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in Florida.
Investigators said the man depicted in the sketch is believed to be a co-conspirator of Feliciano-Francisco in the above alleged crimes.
Court records allege that between 2006 and 2011, several people created a network of brothels and prostitution delivery services in Tennessee and Kentucky using undocumented aliens from Spanish-speaking countries.
Officials said a female victim who was forced and coerced into working as a prostitute for approximately three years, was then kidnapped with the intent to transport her from Florida to Louisiana with plans to put her to work as a prostitute. During her kidnapping, the woman was sexually assaulted by Feliciano-Francisco, and he and others repeatedly threatened the physical safety of both her and her family. The victim eventually escaped while she was being transported from Mississippi to Louisiana. She was later recovered by officers of the Hattiesburg Police Department in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
As the FBI continues their investigation, they are asking for information regarding the man depicted in the sketch.
Authorities describe the suspect as a Hispanic man, about 5 foot 4 inches tall with a medium build.
According to FBI officials, he only spoke in Spanish with what was described as an "island accent" during the alleged crimes.
The man is considered armed and dangerous.
Anyone with information regarding the suspect's identity or location is asked to call the FBI's Jacksonville Field Office at 904-248-7000.