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What happened
Valente Chavez Sanchez Age: 33 Pleaded guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking a minor and transporting women for prostitution across state lines. Melania Corcino Age: 43 Pled guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, sex trafficking through coercion, and interstate transportation of persons with intent to engage in prostitution Jose Altagracia DeLeon Corcino Age: 25 Dominican Singer De Leon faces an extradition hearing before the Supreme Court. All three individuals operated a sex trafficking ring between 1997 and August 2004 in Raleigh, Fuquay-Varina, and Lillington, North Carolina. They trafficked the women and at least one 14 yr. old minor from New York, New Jersey and Maryland. Sanchez arranged the transportation of enslaved prostitutes from NY, NJ and MD. "The women typically would work a week in a brothel in Raleigh or Durham and then be exchanged for other out-of-state prostitutes. Investigators said the men sold $25 tickets to men for access to locations that housed females, including minors." "The price Sanchez paid for each new enslaved female was $130"(N&O). Women were kept "under lock and key" and were not allowed to quit. "Where the minor was found, there were armed guards at the house," Rangarajan said. Corcino "was barking orders and even offered her service [to investigators]"(N&O). Every Sunday evening, a new group of prostitutes was driven to Greensboro. On the way, Mora-Bueno would contact brothel operators, such as Sanchez, to see if they wanted to exchange prostitutes, Rangarajan said.
Response and intervention
Sanchez’s prostitution operation was discovered during a 2003 investigation which began when police found two women bound and gagged in the trunk of a car in a grocery store parking lot located southeast of Charlotte. One recruit, a 14-year-old girl, said in a victim’s statement that she wasn’t allowed to quit and that working for Corcino ruined her life. “She said she lived in fear,” said Rangarajan, reading the girl’s statement. “She said it’s hard to start over and to trust people.” http://www.smfws.com/art1292006e.htm http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/120837/ http://bound4india09.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/to-close-to-home/ http://thetroublemaker.blogspot.com/2008/02/nc-human-trafficking-investigation.html