It’s a big time for the antihero in popular culture, to be sure — and a big time for the antihero in real life, too — but here’s a ridiculous story out of the Denver area. This guy named Daniel Onodera ran a child sex trafficking ring based on meth with six others, including one female. Most of the girls involved in the ring were truants who were given drugs as kind of a “way in;” one of the girls ultimately reported sexual assault by a man named Daniel, which ultimately led authorities back to Onodera. The whole thing ran from November of 2011 to December of 2012, give or take, and was based out of the Timberleaf Apartments (here’s their official website). As you can see here, that’s essentially right next to a hospice and a Starbucks in Lakewood, CO:
When I lived in West Hartford, CT for a bit, we always heard rumors that this mostly-upscale apartment complex off a tree-lined street was the center of NYC-Boston cocaine movement. (West Hartford is vaguely equidistant between those two cities.) It just goes to show you that whenever you’re at an Applebee’s or a Starbucks, some absolute horror can be going on about 100 feet away. I hate the concept of mandatory minimums, but when you hear stories like this, you do wonder if removing people from society on their third drug offense would curb related aspects like child trafficking, etc.
Apparently the ring was considered a “well-guarded secret.” The preliminary hearing appears to be next week:
Daniel Onodera preliminary hearing set for 3/18 10:00. #1STJDDA http://t.co/yoX846Y3Wy
— DA Peter A. Weir (@DA1Colorado) February 27, 2014
