3 Men Who Ran Bergen Prostitution Ring Indicted On Human Trafficking Charges

Three men, including one from Englewood, were indicted last month on human trafficking charges after Fort Lee police uncovered a prostitution ring in and around North Jersey in April.

A Bergen County Grand Jury returned a 14-count indictment against Yadir Araujo, John Gaudin, and Gayan DeSilva Dec. 22, court records show.

Fort Lee police spotted Araujo sitting in a car parked outside a Fort Lee motel in April, authorities previously said. Araujo had several condoms and a woman’s purse in the car. Araujo showed the officer a room in the motel where a 17-year-old girl was “working” as a prostitute, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office said at the time of the arrests.

Related: Fort Lee Police Uncover Human Trafficking, Prostitution Ring

DeSiilva, 34, of Englewood, was in the room with the girl. He allegedly paid Araujo to have sex with the girl, authorities said.

An investigation revealed that Araujo and Gaudin hired two juvenile girls to work as prostitutes and would drive them to appointments that were set up online, authorities said.

The ring operated between Fort Lee and Sayerville in Middlesex County, from March 1 to April 12, 2015, the indictment states.

John Gaudin and Araujo were each indicted on two counts of conspiracy, human trafficking, facilitating human trafficking, endangering the welfare of a child, promoting prostitution of a child, and promoting prostitution. They were also indicted on financial facilitation of criminal activity and possession of a weapon charges.

Desilva was indicted on charges of prostitution with a child and prostitution with a child.

Pictured, from left, are: Yadir Araujo, John Gaudin, and Gayan DeSilva.