12-year-old Girl Gang Member Goes to Prison

A member of the violent Mara Salvatrucha street gang was convicted in federal court Thursday of prostituting a 12-year-old girl who was a runaway, authorities said.

Ismael Antonio Mendez, a member of the 18th Street gang, admitted as a part of his plea that he persuaded the girl to have sex for money so that he could repay a $1,800 debt he owed to another gang member. According to a charging document in the case, Mendez incurred the debt because someone stole $1,800 worth of marijuana that the other gang member had lent him.