Alleged Riverside Prostitutes Due in Court on Wednesday

Two men arrested last week on charges of promoting prostitution in Riverside remain in "ICE hold," according to Southampton Police.

Sergeant James Kiernan, head of the Town of Southampton’s Street Crime Unit, said this translates into Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainment—at the Riverhead Correctional Facility—for being illegally in the country and also charged with a criminal act.

The two individuals charged with promoting prostitution are Manuel Lopez Garcia, 23, and Francisco Israel Gonzalez-Charvirria, 36. Garcia’s residences are listed as Moriches and Guatemala City; Gonzalez-Chavirria as Hampton Bays and Mexico.

Two women stand charged with servicing 30-90 men a day - at a rate of $30 for 15 minutes: Fabiola Garduno-Estrada, 23, and Berenice Rojas, 22. The two have a date with Southampton Town Justice Court on Nov. 24.

In addition, two “johns” were arrested on Saturday, Nov. 13 for patronizing a prostitute. Luis Gabriel Mateus, 33, and Emigdio Rayes (aka Emigdio Gonzales), 24, will have their day in Southampton Justice Court on Jan. 12.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Spokesman Ivan Ortiz-Delgado said that if an illegal alien is charged with a crime then convicted, he or she serves out the sentence for the crime here in America, and only afterwards is deported.

“There were 392,000 people deported from the U.S. in the last year,” he said, “with 195,000 arrested for a crime. A third were arrested for what is called level one crimes, like murder and rape; 42 percent for level two crimes, like drugs.”

Kiernan said the women arrested for prostitution were asked if they were doing this willingly. “That’s one of the things you have to do in these cases, make sure people aren’t being forced," he said. "The women said they weren’t; they were doing it for economic reasons.”

According to Kiernan, the women received half the take; in other words, $15 per john. Though Kiernan added, “The younger girl was new, she was only getting $12 a session.”

The male customers who waited their turn were able to avail themselves of TV and candy, and did have to abide by the rule of house: condoms had to be used. Kiernan stated, “There were a lot of condoms, with spent condoms in the garbage.”

There have been four houses of prostitution closed down in Southampton Township over the past 18 months. When asked if the two men who had been arrested in Riverside had been connected to these other houses, Kiernan said that was “under investigation.”

It is not determined as of yet if the two alleged prostitutes and two johns are in the country legally. Garduno-Estada’s residences are listed as New Jersey and Mexico; Rojas as Queens and Mexico. Mateus is listed as residing in Riverhead and Guatemala City, Rayes as Hampton Bays and Mexico.