Mom and man accused of paying her for access to her 12-year-old daughter appear in court

FOND DU LAC (WLUK) — The mother of a 12-year-old girl who allegedly trafficked her has been summoned to appear in court Friday. The man who allegedly paid the mother for access to the girl and then sexually assaulted her does not yet have a lawyer, so his preliminary hearing has been delayed.

Elia Antonio, 33, is charged with child trafficking, failure to protect a child and bail jumping. She waived her preliminary hearing Friday, court records show. No arraignment date has been set.

Juan Rocha Mejia, 31, is charged with sexual assault, child confinement, strangulation/suffocation and unlawful confinement. His preliminary hearing is now scheduled for July 25.

According to the criminal complaint, he allegedly assaulted the girl in the back of a pickup truck in Oakfield. The young girl, according to authorities, resisted her attacker, who tied her up and blindfolded her, bit her before fleeing to a nearby house, where a good Samaritan called 911.

“When deputies arrived, they began talking to this girl and quickly realized the scope of the allegations and the severity of the crime,” Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt previously said.

At a previous hearing, District Attorney Eric Toney said, “The allegations contained in the criminal complaint reflect the defendant's attempt to sexually assault the victim, having sexual contact over her clothing, attempting to restrain her with duct tape, attempting to blindfold her, attempting to constrict her airway, and his courageous actions led her to escape and get help.”

Through an interpreter, Rocha Mejia denied the allegations. He said: “What they are accusing me of here, I have nothing to do with it.”

Toney said the investigation into the incident and the two defendants is not complete.

“If anyone has any information regarding these two individuals, we ask that you contact the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office. As the investigation is still ongoing, it is always possible that additional charges will be filed at a later date,” he said.

Help is available from the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 or text “INFO” to 233733. Local resources are available from the 24-hour crisis line from ASTOP: 920-926-5395.