Vancouver man arrested in Oregon human trafficking case

A Vancouver man was arrested Friday on suspicion of participating in a human trafficking operation at a Beaverton, Ore., adult entertainment venue.

Yahir Ibidem Muniz, 30, was arrested at his home in the Bagley Downs neighborhood and lodged in the Clark County Jail. He was scheduled to be transported Tuesday to Washington County Jail in Oregon, said Beaverton police spokesman Officer Jeremy Shaw.

He recently was indicted in Washington County on charges of three counts of second-degree rape, three counts of second-degree unlawful sexual penetration, three counts of first-degree sexual abuse and four counts of second-degree sodomy.

He is one of three suspects in the Beaverton Police Department’s ongoing investigation into suspected sexual trafficking and forced prostitution inside the Beaverton Stars Cabaret, 4570 S.W. Lombard Ave.

The other suspects, Victor Moreno-Hernandez, 27, and Steven J. Toth, 42, both of Beaverton, were arrested Dec. 10 at their respective homes.

Beaverton police detectives began the investigation in September when they learned of the sexual assault and trafficking of two 13-year-old girls in the city limits and greater Beaverton area.

One victim was a runaway who in 2012 had met at least three adult men in Beaverton. The men allegedly sexually assaulted the girl over a period of time and forced her into prostitution inside the Stars Cabaret, police said. At least one of the suspects repeatedly provided her with methamphetamine.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, the Child Exploitation Task Force and the Portland Police Bureau have assisted in the investigation, Beaverton police said.