MINNEAPOLIS — A St. Paul woman was sentenced to three years in prison for a sex trafficking conspiracy the rattled the Minnesota Republican Party in 2020. Gisela Castro Medina, 23, will spend the time in federal prison. Judge Patrick Schlitz rejected her request for leniency. Castro Medina had noted that she has lectured against sex trafficking since she was caught and participated in an out-of-state panel for survivors of sexual abuse. Even so, Judge Schiltz responded, she earlier had actively obstructed the investigation into the money-and-gifts for sex scheme. After sentencing, Medina told a KARE interviewer: “I’m grateful I got caught.” It her turned her life around, she said. In court she apologized profusely to the victims who had testified against big-time Republican financier Tony Lazarro about the devastating effect the sex-trafficking scheme had on the teen-iage girls she procured for him. Through Medina, Lazarro lavishhed hundreds of dollars in cash, gift cards, alcohol, and other items on girls as young as 15. Lazzaro was found in March and is serving a 21-year prison sentence.
Earlier: Lazzaro sex-trafficking accomplice to be sentenced
Earlier: GOP golden boy Lazzaro: 20 years for teen consorting
Castro Medina. He request for leniency didn’t faze he judge.