Moises Rodriguez talks with his defense lawyer James Chandler, left, and interpreter Eduardo Triana before pleading guility to charges including human trafficking at the Collier County Courthouse in Naples, FL on Wednesday, April 20, 2016. (Photo by Gregg Pachkowski/Special to the Daily News)

SHARE Collier County Sheriff Office Deputy John Dimaio takes Moises Rodriguez's fingerprints after he pleaded guility to charges including human trafficking at the Collier County Courthouse in Naples, FL on Wednesday, April 20, 2016. (Photo by Gregg Pachkowski/Special to the Daily News) Moises Rodriguez pleads guility to charges including human trafficking at the Collier County Courthouse in Naples, FL on Wednesday, April 20, 2016. (Photo by Gregg Pachkowski/Special to the Daily News) Moises Rodriguez pleads guility to charges including human trafficking at the Collier County Courthouse in Naples, FL on Wednesday, April 20, 2016. (Photo by Gregg Pachkowski/Special to the Daily News) Moises Rodriguez pleads guility to charges including human trafficking at the Collier County Courthouse in Naples, FL on Wednesday, April 20, 2016. (Photo by Gregg Pachkowski/Special to the Daily News)

By Jacob Carpenter of the Naples Daily News

A Lakeland man on Wednesday became the first defendant to admit responsibility for his role in a human- and sex-trafficking ring busted last year, pleading guilty in Collier County to three felony counts.

Moises Rodriguez, 67, will receive three years in prison followed by three years of probation if he follows through on providing assistance to prosecutors, who have charged 14 other people in the case. Rodriguez pleaded guilty to charges of human trafficking, conspiracy and deriving profits from prostitution.

Rodriguez was accused of transporting women to brothels across Central Florida and conspiring with one of the ringleaders.

Investigators said six immigrant women were smuggled into the U.S. at various times between 2007 and 2013 and forced to work as sex slaves in Central and Southwest Florida. The women would perform sex acts on 25 to 35 men per day, on an average of six days per week. Each woman made her captors an average of about $194,000 to $324,000 per year, investigators said.

Sheriff's deputies were tipped off to the operation in February 2013, when one victim confided in a Collier County sheriff's deputy during a traffic stop. Thirteen people were arrested in March 2015 after a lengthy investigation. Two people remain at large.

Agents said Rodriguez lived next door to Victor Blanco Pantoja, who's accused of being one of the ringleaders and captors. One victim told agents that Rodriguez drove her to brothels, and another victim identified Rodriguez as an accomplice of Blanco Pantoja's.

Agents also tailed Rodriguez on one occasion, watching as he and Blanco Pantoja transported a woman across Central Florida, according to an investigative report.

Rodriguez faced a guideline minimum of about five years in prison and a maximum of 60 years in prison. He received a below-guideline sentence because he's agreed to provide "substantial assistance" to prosecutors and he's considered a relatively minor accomplice in the trafficking ring.

Rodriguez said he "didn't know" that he was assisting a sex trafficking operation, but he "presumably" should have been aware. He didn't speak at length during the hearing, which is common in cases when sentencing is deferred until after a defendant cooperates with prosecutors.

Prosecutor Michael-Anthony Pica declined to comment on why Rodriguez became the first to plead and the nature of Rodriguez's cooperation. The 14 other cases remain pending, with a case management conference set for next week.

"I would say there's still a lot of work that needs to be done," Pica said. "It's a pretty massive case that involves numerous defense attorneys, and so sometimes it's difficult to get coordination among all of them."