Co-defendant in GOP operative sex trafficking case pleads guilty

MINNEAPOLIS — A woman accused of taking part in an underage sex trafficking conspiracy with a Minnesota GOP operative has pleaded guilty to two charges and is expected to testify in an upcoming trial.

Gisela Castro Medina, 20, pleaded guilty Monday, Dec. 19, to two federal charges at a change of plea hearing before Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz in Minneapolis. Medina, the former University of St. Thomas College Republicans chair, admitted finding girls on social media and arranging meetings with Republican donor and commentator Anton “Tony” Lazzaro, as well as trying to pay the victims not to speak out.

Prosecutors allege Lazzaro lured five victims for sex and attempted to lure a sixth between May and December 2020. Lazzaro has been in custody since federal authorities arrested him at his Minneapolis apartment in August 2021. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, aiding and abetting sex trafficking of a minor, and related obstruction charges.

As Medina entered her guilty pleas to two charges Monday, her defense attorney read a series of factual allegations from the investigation, which Medina affirmed under oath in court. Medina admitted to working closely with Lazzaro to recruit minors tailored to his specific tastes — including compiling photos of girls for her co-defendant to choose from. One of the victims was 15 years old at the time of the offense, she affirmed, later telling the court she had attempted to get the 15-year-old not to speak to authorities.

Medina affirmed that she met Lazzaro through the website identified as “Seeking Arrangement” — also known as Seeking.com — a website often used by wealthier older men and younger women to connect for “sugar daddy” relationships. According to the plea agreement read in court, Lazzaro had paid to have sex with Medina and an underage girl when he and Medina first met. Medina eventually became his recruiter. She said Lazzaro at one point had promised to buy her a house and help pay for graduate school. According to the plea agreement, Lazzaro compensated her with Adderall, alcohol, clothes, travel expenses and Venmo payments. She used the money to pay rent and tuition.

Medina also admitted to preparing a list of terms used by minors for Lazzaro, age 30 at the time of his arrest, to better communicate with teens, though it’s not clear if he ever made use of the list.

Medina was arrested in Florida in August 2021 and initially pleaded not guilty to all her charges. She has stayed in a halfway house since entering her plea, though she has been able to obtain short releases for holidays.

She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, which carries up to a life sentence in prison. The obstruction charge carries a sentence of up to 25 years in prison. The U.S. Attorney’s office said it will drop the other five charges in the case in exchange for the plea change.

At the absolute bare minimum, Medina will be required to pay restitution to victims and serve five years of supervised probation. She already has $20,000 set aside to begin making payments, and the government will keep two iPhones, a Mini Cooper, a laptop and $2,000 seized from Medina by the FBI. She will also have to pay into a fund for victims of sex trafficking.

Schiltz said he’ll have to review sentencing guidelines himself before making a decision, and that any preliminary agreement reached between the prosecution and defense on sentencing is no guarantee on a sentence.

With Medina’s guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and a related obstruction charge, the rest of the charges will be dismissed at sentencing, which is expected after Lazzaro’s trial, which is scheduled to begin on March 20. He remains in custody in the Sherburne County Jail ahead of trial, where he has been since his August 2021 arrest.

Lazzaro’s indictment on sex trafficking charges led to upheaval in the Minnesota Republican Party. His close association with former party chair Jennifer Carnahan contributed to her resignation in August 2021. Carnahan condemned Lazzaro’s alleged actions and denied knowledge of any illegal activity.

Following the plea hearing, Jeff Anderson, a high-profile attorney whose firm represents victims in child sex abuse cases across the U.S., called Medina’s plea change the first step toward justice in the case.

“What we did witness today, as we saw this plea entered, is the first, first measure of accountability,” he told reporters in the courthouse lobby. “And also as we listened to the presentation before Judge Schiltz, today, we got a full and early appreciation of the magnitude of this enterprise.”

Anderson has brought a lawsuit against Lazzaro and Medina on the behalf of one of the alleged victims, which he said will move forward when Lazzaro’s trial has concluded.

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