Elizabeth Rojas Rojas admitted last year in federal court that she used other unauthorized immigrants as prostitutes.
NEWARK -- Elizabeth Rojas Rojas admittedly had a difficult life.
She became pregnant as a teenager and had few job opportunities in her native Mexico, her defense attorney said in court Wednesday.
Lured to the United States as an unauthorized immigrant, she turned to prostitution, was raped and psychologically traumatized, he said.
But instead of seeking help, Rojas, 34, turned to conspire with her husband, Juan Fredy Hernandez Zozaya, to run a large-scale prostitution business throughout New Jersey.
Although U.S. District Judge Stanley Chesler said he realized Rojas has suffered, she chose to do to other women what was done to her.
"She ran the day-to-day business operations of a major brothel operation which victimized numerous women," Chesler said in sentencing Rojas Wednesday. "That cannot be excused."
Woman gets 5 years for health care fraud
Chesler then sentenced her to the top end of the federal guidelines in the case, 41 months in prison.
Rojas pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to harbor unauthorized aliens for financial gain last year.
Prosecutors argued that Rojas should have faced 10 years in prison because the brothel operation is linked to several murders. Hernandez is facing two murder charges in Cumberland County, for the executions of Jose Luis Ortiz and Eduardo Bernal, both of Bridgeton, according to the county prosecutor's office.
He too faces numerous federal charges related to bringing unauthorized immigrants to the United States to work as prostitutes. He has not entered a plea in that case, court records show.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon Ashe asked Chesler to take into account the fact that the murders occurred either to eliminate cooperating witnesses or competing brothel operators. Nothing, she said, went on in the business without Rojas' business partner, Hernandez, talking about it with her.
"She and Juan Fredy are the corporation," she said.
But defense attorney Kristen Santillo said Rojas had no role in any shootings and should not be held accountable for them.
She did say that in pleading guilty, Rojas admitted to running a prostitution business, including scheduling prostitutes and distributing cash to them and house operators. A criminal complaint says the business was extensive, with around two dozen prostitutes shuttling between houses in Trenton, Bridgeton, New Brunswick, Orange, Lakewood and Asbury Park.
Santillo also outlined Rojas' difficult start in life, including being raped. Rojas turned to prostitution because she was "desperate for money. She didn't really see a lot of options for herself."
Chesler agreed with Santillo's argument, saying there is nothing inherent in running a brothel that says Rojas should have known that people would be murdered. Statements from others not charged in the case did not conclusively link her to the shootings, he said.
Rojas apologized for her crimes and said she didn't realize the seriousness of her crime until she was arrested in September, 2014.
Tim Darragh may be reached at tdarragh@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @timdarragh. Find NJ.com on Facebook.