Honduras court postpones verdict in trafficking trial tied to Angie Pena disappearance
The ruling has been moved to November 20 as lawyers for Pena’s family raise concerns about transparency and allegations of official involvement in a criminal network.
By Hassan Ellis ·
A Honduran court has postponed its verdict in a sex-trafficking case connected to the disappearance of Angie Pena in 2022, extending a trial that has prompted concerns about impunity in transnational crime. The judiciary announced on Monday that the court needed more time to examine evidence and await an interpreter’s return from abroad. The ruling, expected that day, is now scheduled for November 20.
Four men are standing trial on charges related to the case. US citizens Harold Green and William James Murdock face human-trafficking charges, while Gary Lee Johnston, also a US citizen, and Honduran Gustavo Trejo are accused of criminal association. Authorities have also requested an Interpol notice for another US suspect, Antony Frank Grayson. Defence lawyers deny the defendants’ involvement and have asked the court to acquit them.
The public prosecutor’s office alleges that the suspects belong to a criminal network involved in drug trafficking and the sex trafficking of minors. Prosecutors also say police officers and at least one judge helped the network operate, although they have not identified those officials. Critics described the postponement as another obstacle in a case that has drawn comparisons with the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted US sex offender accused of operating a sex-trafficking ring.
Pena disappeared on January 1, 2022, after leaving West Bay on the Honduran island of Roatan aboard a jet ski during a family holiday. Investigators initially considered an accident at sea and concentrated on rescue efforts. The discovery of her jet ski in Belize, about 170km away, subsequently widened the inquiry to include possible trafficking.
In August 2022, investigators searching for answers about Pena’s disappearance found a minor at a Roatan home occupied by Johnston. In a separate prosecution, Johnston later received a 32-year prison sentence for commercial sex trafficking and child pornography. An analysis by Honduran media also found more than 100 mentions of Honduras in the Epstein files, with Roatan appearing several times.
Lawyers acting for Pena’s family have challenged the transparency of both the investigation and the trial, which was closed to journalists and the public. Kenia Paz, a lawyer with the Legal Team for Human Rights, which represents the family, said other women and girls had suffered at the hands of trafficking networks while their cases remained silenced and unpunished.
Further concerns followed the killing in August of Dereck McNeil, a key protected witness. Videos released after his death showed him alleging corruption within ATIC, a special unit of the public prosecutor’s office. McNeil accused the unit of disclosing information about the case and maintaining ties to drug-trafficking networks. ATIC’s director rejected the corruption allegations and said the unit had not investigated Pena’s disappearance.
Former Honduran Vice Minister of Security Julissa Villanueva wrote on X that delaying the ruling deepened perceptions of impunity, weakened public trust in state security institutions and extended the distress and vulnerability of affected families. Speaking to The Associated Press, she also accused prosecutors of mishandling the investigation from its beginning and pursuing an overly narrow explanation.
Villanueva argued that justice depended on revealing connections to broader networks. She said the concerns reached beyond Pena’s disappearance to other women around her, underscoring the family’s lawyers’ calls for greater openness about the case.
