Verdict delayed in Honduras sex-trafficking case linked to disappearance

A court in Honduras has delayed a verdict in a sex-trafficking case linked to the 2022 disappearance of Angie Pena, a case that has raised concerns about impunity in transnational crimes. On Monday, Honduras’s judiciary cited the need to review evidence and wait for the return of a court interpreter, who was out of the country. The decision has been delayed until November 20.

The verdict was expected that same day. Critics framed the unexpected delay as yet another hurdle in a case that has drawn comparisons to the crimes of the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender in the US accused of running a sex-trafficking ring. Harold Green and William James Murdock, both from the US, face human-trafficking charges.

Another US citizen, Gary Lee Johnston, and Honduran citizen Gustavo Trejo are accused of criminal association. The Honduran public prosecutor’s office said the suspects are part of a network involved in crimes including drug trafficking and sex trafficking involving minors.