The Georgia Attorney General’s Office announced this week that a third individual has been convicted in a case of trafficking a 13-year-old female.
Brian Smith, 43, of Perry, has pleaded guilty to the trafficking, molestation, and statutory rape of a 13-year-old female in Houston County. Smith is the second defendant to be convicted of purchasing the child for sex and the third defendant to be convicted in this case overall.
The Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit initiated its investigation after the child disclosed that she was sold for sex in Warner Robins in 2020. Smith was indicted in November 2024, along with two other defendants: Emma-Lee Garcia, of Warner Robins, and Noe Borromeo Hernandez, a Mexican national who was residing in Kathleen. An additional defendant, Demaria Williams, of Byron, was indicted in May 2025.
This case was investigated by Chief Human Trafficking Investigator Bryan Kimbell and prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Maggie Meetze. Both serve in Carr’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, which recently expanded to include a new regional office in Macon.
Conviction and Sentencing of Smith
On Oct. 9, 2025, Brian Smith pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- 2 counts of Trafficking of Persons for Sexual Servitude
- 1 count of Aggravated Child Molestation
- 1 count of Statutory Rape
Smith was sentenced to 25 years, with the first five years to be served in prison and the remainder on strict probation. He is also required to register as a sex offender.
Previous Convictions of Garcia and Hernandez
Emma-Lee Garcia posted online advertisements selling the child for sex, harbored the child in a motel in Houston County for the purpose of commercial sex, and benefitted financially from the sale of the child.
Garcia was convicted of the following charges in May 2025:
- 5 counts of Trafficking of Persons for Sexual Servitude
She was sentenced to 40 years, with the first 18 years to be served in prison and the remainder on strict probation. Garcia is also required to register as a sex offender.
Noe Borromeo Hernandez purchased the child for sex.
Hernandez was convicted of the following charges in August 2025:
- 1 count of Trafficking of Persons for Sexual Servitude
- 2 counts of Child Molestation
- 1 count of Statutory Rape
He was sentenced to 25 years, with 10 years to be served in prison. He currently has an ICE detainer and is expected to be deported following the completion of his prison sentence.
The State’s case against Demaria Williams is ongoing.
