Man pleads guilty to trafficking 13-year-old girl in Houston County, state AG says

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A man has pleaded guilty to trafficking a 13-year-old girl in central Georgia, according to state Attorney General Chris Carr.

Noe Borromeo Hernandez, 43, a Mexican national who resided in Kathleen, has pleaded guilty to trafficking the girl in Houston County, Carr announced Thursday.

As part of his plea, Hernandez admitted to purchasing the child for sex, Carr said.

Hernandez applied for asylum in August 2023. He was arrested in November 2024 and indicted the following month by Carr’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

Carr said the unit started investigating Hernandez after the victim told investigators she was sold for sex in Warner Robins.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Marshals Service, the Warner Robins Police Department and the Houston County Sheriff’s Office assisted in arresting Hernandez, Carr said.

A Houston County Superior Court judge accepted Hernandez’s plea on Aug. 7 and sentenced him to 30 years, with the first 10 years to be served in prison.

Hernandez has an ICE hold placed on him and is expected to be deported after he serves his prison sentence, according to Carr.

Hernandez is the second defendant to be convicted of trafficking the 13-year-old girl. In May, 25-year-old Emma-Lee Garcia, who sold the victim to Hernandez, was sentenced to 40 years.

Garcia also “benefitted financially from the sexual servitude of the underage victim,” Carr said.

Two other defendants, Brian Smith and Demaria Williams, are still facing charges for allegedly purchasing the child for sex. Both men were indicted by Carr’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit in Houston County.