A beauty queen who inspired the hit film ‘Sound of Freedom’ has been jailed for pimping children.
Kelly Johana Suárez, 31, and four co-defendants were each sentenced to 19 years and eight months in prison.
She was arrested during a sex party in October 2014 when the authorities rescued 54 children from the gang’s clutches.
READ MORE: Painter has brush with death after van crashes into cherry picker
The defendants were found guilty of sexually exploiting the minors on the island of Barú near Cartagena in Colombia.
The trial started in November 2022, nearly seven years after she was formally charged in December 2015.
Suárez, a former beauty queen who rose to fame at the Cartagena Independence Day festival in 2013, was accused of using her position to recruit wannabe models from vulnerable communities.
She gained the trust of the children’s families by claiming they would be joining a modelling agency.
The young victims were then allegedly used as sex slaves for the gang’s wealthy clients.
The case inspired the 2023 film ‘Sound of Freedom’ starring Jim Caviezel, as reported by Need To Know.
Suárez, dubbed ‘Miss Cartagena’, is said to be the inspiration for the character Giselle, played by Yessica Borroto Perryman.
However, she has always maintained her innocence, claiming she was tricked into taking part in the events on Barú Island.
Suárez also said that she didn’t receive a fair defence during the trial and has since launched an appeal against the verdict.
The former beauty queen hopes that the Superior Court of Bolívar will review her appeal and acquit her of the charges.
The other convicted persons have been named as Samuel David Olave Martinez, Eduardo Ortega Issa, Horacio Revolledo Pacheco and Juan Manuel Oquendo Sierra.
