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Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don’t have a verifiable source on file yet. Know one?
What happened
The charges were announced by Benton J. Campbell, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; John Morton, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), New York; Richard Dormer, Suffolk County Police Commissioner; Joseph M. Demarest, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New York Field Office; and Patricia J. Haynes, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation, New York. The joint investigation revealed that Antonio Rivera, a Registered Sex Offender, and his sister Jasmin Rivera owned and operated the Sonidos de la Frontera bar, located in Lake Ronkonkoma, and the La Hija del Mariachi bar, located in Farmingville. Whaley was employed as a manager in both bars. From September 2007 through the present, the Riveras and Whaley allegedly lured young women, primarily Central American illegal immigrants, to work in the bars as waitresses and hostesses. Some of the women were as young as 17 years of age. As set forth in the complaint, after the women began working in the bars, the defendants forced them to engage in sex acts with bar patrons in exchange for money, with the defendants keeping half of the proceeds. When the women refused or resisted, the defendants used physical force, including rape and assaults, and threatened to report the women to immigration authorities. The defendants also controlled the movement of the women between the bars and other locations in Hempstead, Huntington, and Brentwood, transporting them in vehicles registered to the Riveras and Whaley. The complaint also charges the defendants with conspiring to harbor illegal aliens by concealing the women’s true identities and immigration status from state licensing agencies and law enforcement authorities. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Dormer stated, “These serious crimes against young women will not be tolerated in Suffolk County. This Department values its role as the local law enforcement component of the Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force for Long Island. This case demonstrates the effectiveness of the task force paradigm, which coordinates the efforts of local and federal law enforcement agencies, as well as community service agencies, support groups, and educational entities. We hope these arrests will put others on notice that sex trafficking and similar crimes will continue to be a high priority for this Department.” The details of the investigation cannot be found yet, but one article reports: While dozens of women have been working in the bars, the raids are based on evidence provided by four of them who have been cooperating with investigators, according to court papers and sources. One of the women told investigators that she entered the country illegally and was recruited by the operators of the ring as a waitress when she was 17, the court papers said. She said she was repeatedly raped by one of the operators, according to court papers. To stop the rapes, she said she created an imaginary boyfriend. But her attacker told her "Boyfriend! Watch what I'm going to do to you. Your boyfriend will never want to touch you again." Shortly after, a security guard at the club bashed "her head into the pavement of the parking lot" breaking several teeth and causing black eyes, bruises and lacerations, the papers said. Several of the women said that they had been recruited to work as waitresses through ads on Spanish-language Internet sites and newspapers, promising pay of $40 a day plus tips, and half of the price of the $20 shots of tequila they sold to the undocumented clientele, according to papers. Brookhaven Town Supervisor Mark Lesko said the town had been cooperating with the police and federal investigation.
Response and intervention
The two bars were raided and 2 dozen bartenders were taken for questioning by authorities. There are allegedly seven victims. The status of the victims is unknown. Early news reports indicate there are seven victims. They were taken by the police during the initial raid. federal agents and Suffolk police I cannot find the details, but one article reported that the raids are based on evidence provided by four of the victims, who have been cooperating with investigators, according to court papers and sources. However, it is unclear how they initially made contact with law enforcement