Bensonhurst, New York, United States
Between April 2007 and November 2009, the defendants, who are Mexican nationals, used physical violence, threats, and intimidation to force a 17-year-old Mexican woman (the victim), to work as a prostitute in and around New York City and elsewhere. The victim was not permitted to leave the apartment where she lived with the defendants in Brooklyn except to work as a prostitute. Half of the money she earned was taken by Salazar, and the balance was kept by drivers who transported her to work locations. The violence used against the victim included Salazar punching her in the face and body and beating her with a brick and a wooden board, and Mendez cutting her with a knife.
Location
United States · Bensonhurst, New York · 2009 (location generalized to protect survivors)
Response & intervention
A couple accused of forcing a teenage mother into prostitution and beating her infant son to death were sentenced Thursday in Brooklyn federal court to a total of more than 35 years in prison. The man received 30 years, while his wife received 68 months. The sentences stemmed from their guilty pleas last year to federal charges of sex trafficking of a minor. The couple still face murder charges in state Supreme Court in Brooklyn stemming from the death of the victim's child.
Federal agents raided an apartment on 40th Street in Sunset Park for a sex trafficking ring. During the raid, a cement-packed bucket was discovered that held the tiny remains of an infant. Agents arrested the man, who was described as an illegal alien who had been deported to Mexico after being arrested in a similar sex trafficking case. Sources said he returned to the US and ran a new trafficking ring that brought in several unwitting women from Mexico to become prostitutes.
Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don't have a verifiable source on file yet — use “Report a problem” below to add one.