Five men - four of them related: Amador Cortes-Meza, 34; Juan Cortes-Meza, 31; Francisco Cortes-Meza, 25; Raul Cortes-Meza, 21; and Edison Wagner Rosa Tort, 69. The Cortes-Meza family members, all Mexican nationals, were arrested June 5 in Norcross where they were living. Authorities took Tort, a legal permanent resident originally from Uruguay, into custody June 24 in Cartersville. They were charged with bringing at least 10 young Mexican women into the U.S. illegally and forcing them to work as prostitutes in metro Atlanta. The defendants allegedly used threats, coercion, and physical violence to force the girls to cooperate. The women were delivered to clients' apartments or homes and were required to have sex with up to 30 men per day (according to legal authorities). Prosecutors accuse the men of conspiring to seduce, entice, and recruit the women, ages 14-28, to travel to metro Atlanta from Mexico, with promises of legitimate jobs. Four women survivors involved were under 18 years old.
Location
United States · Norcross, Georgia · 2008
(location generalized to protect survivors) Response & intervention
Yes. ICE agents played a key role in the investigation and arrests of the traffickers, as well as the protection of the victims.
Investigations by U.S. Immigration and Customs agents and Bartow and Gwinnet County sheriff's investigators led to the arrests on June 5 (and June 24 for Tort). Ten survivors, all Mexican nationals, were rescued and placed in protective custody.
The women are in safe houses and shelters in the metro Atlanta area. Some survivors have been in captivity for up to two years, while others as little as several days before the arrests were made. Patrick Crosby, a U.S. Attorney's Office spokesperson, was quoted in the Atlanta Journal Constitution as saying the survivors most likely will remain in the USA under visas for victims (presumably T-visas) and are unlikely to face criminal charges or deportation.
This reporter is unsure of the exact locations of aftercare.
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.