Family forced waitresses at Texas bar to perform sex acts for money, feds say

For 13 years, Texas family members forced waitresses at a Houston bar to go on “dates” and perform sex acts for customers, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of Texas.

Maria Botello, 54, “coordinated” the dates, while her son Edgar Botello, 28, and nephew Arian Botello, 23, acted as “enforcers who used weapons, threats and intimidation to keep the victims compliant.”

Botello’s daughter, 31-year-old Yudy Lucatero, was also involved, in a seemingly more behind-the-scenes way. According to a U.S. Attorney’s office news release, she “discussed the rules and procedures” of the sex trafficking operation with her mother.

In some cases, the Botello matriarch organized “dates” between victims and customers paying $70 per 15 minutes.

From 2007 to 2020, the family “coerced” women, and at least one female minor, working at the Houston bar Puerto Alegre, into having sex with clients for money.

The minor, who was 17 years old, was brought across the U.S. border “specifically to work at Puerto Alegre,” the release said.

All four family members are charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy to do so, and could face maximum sentences of life in prison if convicted, or 10 years in prison at minimum.

The investigation was launched by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the release said, and assisted by the Houston Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations.

This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Family forced waitresses at Texas bar to perform sex acts for money, feds say."