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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
Deputy U.S. Attorney Brad Shepard reported that the ring was controlled by Mexican brothers Noberto, Gregorio, and Jose Louis Hernandez-Castilla. The women were rotated weekly among the brothels generally set up in apartments in Indianapolis. It also is believed to have operated brothels in Fort Wayne and Elkhart, FBI Special Agent Michael Langeman said in a probable- cause affidavit. The brothers were known to have guns and use violence to intimidate others in the ring, Langeman said. An informant told investigators that he was fearful of Jose Louis Hernandez, who was known “to have connections everywhere,” the affidavit said. Shepard says the traffickers used business cards advertising car repairs and western wear to attract clients. Typically, the cost for services ranged from $40 to $50.
Response and intervention
Federal, state and local authorities arrested 19 people in Indiana, Michigan and Illinois on racketeering and conspiracy charges. Federal authorities say they've broken up a prostitution ring that smuggled women in from Mexico and other Latin American countries to work in brothels in Indianapolis, Cincinnati, metropolitan Chicago and Grand Rapids, Michigan. The investigation began with a Crime Stoppers tip about suspected prostitution to Indianapolis police in December 2007. U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett said the ring may have operated as long as 10 years.