Authorities were contacted multiple times before the workers were finally emancipated. Some of the first to report their suspicions were neighbors of the crime family. They noticed and reported domestic violence they saw suspected from the house. The neighbors also realized that an unsually large amount of people lived in one house. All 62 victims lived in one house, including 12 children, and three pregnant women. At first, neighbors were too scared to call police because they thought that the Mexicans were illegal aliens. When police began to make searches of the house, they came during working hours, while no one was home. As of 2006, 27 of the victims still inhabited the US. Two of the ringleaders in the crime, a decade after the fact, were given 13 year sentences, although there likely sentences will be five years. However, the Paoletti-Lemus ramily was court ordered to give out $1.4 million in restitution.
Location
United States · Borough of Queens, New York · 2008
(location generalized to protect survivors) Response & intervention
When the brother of one of the captive girls came from Mexico to retrieve her, he went to the Mexican Consulate to try to free the others. The Mexican Consulate did nothing to help. In fact, several of the deaf workers personally went into the consulate and explained their predicament. The consulate's position was that, if they didn't were undocumented Mexican workers, they would do nothing to help them. Action was finally taken when four of the workers were able to break free from and their captors and go to the police station in person. They used sign and written notes to explain to detectives their forced servitude.
Upon their discovery, the INS took custody of the 62 victims. The emancipated had been sexually, and physically abused, as well as starved at times. For eleven months they lived in a hotel until the city of New York gave them the choice to either stay in the US or go back to Mexico. Thirty seven decided to stay, and received "S" visas. Those that stayed were provided with support from the city of New York to find housing, work, and schools for the deaf. Each victim received $1,500 - $65,000 according to the amount of time they were enslaved.
The INS,the city of New York, and "el DIF" of the Mexican government.
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.