Warrant: Bridgeport woman prostituted underage girls to Stamford man at Norwalk hotel

The prosecutor told the judge that Teresa Martinez, 36, prostituted underage girls to Eugene Luini, 60, over the course of two months.

Marissa Alter

Dec 28, 2022, 1:18 AM

Updated 654 days ago

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A Stamford man and a Bridgeport woman were arraigned in Stamford Superior Court Tuesday in connection to a child sex trafficking investigation out of Norwalk.
In court, the prosecutor called the allegations "incredibly troubling." She told the judge that Teresa Martinez, 36, prostituted underage girls to Eugene Luini, 60, over the course of two months.
Their arrests Monday came after a lengthy investigation by Norwalk police that began nearly two years ago.
"In January of 2021, our Special Victims Unit received a tip from the Department of Children and Families. As a result of that tip, Det. English of our SVU began an investigation," said Lt. Terry Blake.
That investigation found Martinez connected Luini with three different girls—aged 15, 16, and 17—in the fall of 2020, according to the arrest warrants. The warrants detailed two different sexual encounters with Luini at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Norwalk. One of the juveniles described Luini as "very aggressive," the warrants stated. Another told police she heard him yell, "This isn't what I paid for," while she was outside the room, and he was inside with a different girl.
Martinez allegedly drove the juveniles to and from the hotel or had them take a cab there. One underage girl told police Martinez went through her phone to get her friends' numbers to hire them.
In a statement to police, Martinez told them she first met Luini when he hired her for sex, but after a couple encounters, he began asking her for young girls. Martinez admitted bringing three different juveniles to meet Luini but said the two never had sex with him and the other didn't tell her what happened in the hotel room, according to the warrants.
According to the warrants, staff at DoubleTree called police in November 2020 to lodge a complaint against Luini, who rented seven rooms there in October and November. "On each occasion, Luini escorts a different young female through the lobby," the warrants said. Luini allegedly always showed up to the hotel with no prior reservation and always paid cash. When police contacted Luini, he said he went to the hotel to meet a friend of a friend. Police told him the hotel's manager didn't want him to return in the future, which Luini agreed to, according to the warrant.
A spokesperson for GF Hotels & Resorts, the company that owns and operates DoubleTree by Hilton, issued a statement saying, "Our property management team took over operations in June of 2022 prior to the forementioned incident. However, we are working closely with the local authorities in their investigation, and we are keeping our hotel guests' safety and security as our number one priority."
Luini is charged with commercial sex abuse of a minor and risk of injury to a minor. Martinez faces the same charges along with an additional charge of trafficking in persons.
Court records show Luini was previously convicted in New York of rape of a victim under 11 years old, sodomy, and unlawful restraint. He was in prison from 1986-1990 and released from parole in 1995, according to the New York Department of Corrections.
"The important thing to take away from this is ensuring the victims are having services, that they are taken care of and that these offenders will hopefully not re-offend as a result of being arrested," Blake told News 12.
In court, the judge kept each defendant's bond at $1.5 million. He also issued three protective orders barring both from any contact with the three juveniles mentioned in the warrants.
Norwalk police said their investigation remains open. Anyone with information is asked to call SVU at 203-854-3043 or Sgt. David Orr at 203-854-3008. Anonymous tips can be called in to 203-854-3111 or sent online through. They can also be submitted by text by typing "NORWALKPD" into the text field, followed by the message, and sending it to TIP411 (847411).