Bonded Labor2004
United States US
Trans Bay Steel Corporation (Napa County California) received a large sub-contract to provide services to retrofit the Bay Bridge and became the sponsoring employer for the workers. Trans Bay contracted with Kota Manpower Co., and Hi Cap Enterprises, Inc., to bring 48 skilled welders from Thailand using H-2B seasonal working visas to meet the needs of the project. While Kota and Hi-Cap brought over approximately 48 welders from Thailand, only nine of them went to work for Trans Bay. The remaining welders were brought to Los Angeles and Long Beach and forced to work without pay at Thai Restaurants owned by Kota Manpower and Hi-Cap; all 48 were not paid for their work. . Additionally, some workers were confined to cramped apartments without any electricity, water, or gas.
Bonded Labor2004
United States US
Trans Bay Steel Corporation (Napa County California) received a large sub-contract to provide services to retrofit the Bay Bridge and became the sponsoring employer for the workers. Trans Bay contracted with Kota Manpower Co., and Hi Cap Enterprises, Inc., to bring 48 skilled welders from Thailand using H-2B seasonal working visas to meet the needs of the project. While Kota and Hi-Cap brought over approximately 48 welders from Thailand, only nine of them went to work for Trans Bay. The remaining welders were brought to Los Angeles and Long Beach and forced to work without pay at Thai Restaurants owned by Kota Manpower and Hi-Cap; all 48 were not paid for their work. . Additionally, some workers were confined to cramped apartments without any electricity, water, or gas.
Forced Labor2004
United States US
Mariluz Zavala pleaded guilty (November 5, 2004)of forced labor; conspiring to recruit, harbor, transport, house undocumented workers; engaging in extortionate credit transactions and transferring false alien registration cards of 69 Peruvians. Zavala and Jose Ibanez (co-defendent/husband) sheltered these immigrants into one house with squalid & cramped living conditions, 13 of who were minors, and used the earned money of the workers to pay for the mortgage of their three houses. They forced the victims to pay $6,000 to $13,000 for their smuggling fees.
CSEC2004
United States US
Josue Flores Carreto, Gerardo Flores Carreto, and Daniel Perez Alonso were involved in the Carreto family sex trafficking ring. The three admitted that between 1991 and 2004 they recruited young women from Mexico to come to the U.S. The victims were smuggled to New York City where they were forced to work as prostitutes in brothels. The victims were physically and verbally abused. The victims were forced to perform several sexual acts each day, at the date of $25 to $35. Half of the amount earner went to the owner and manager of the brothel, and the other half was taken by members of the Carreto organization.
Bonded Labor2004
United States US
In a federal lawsuit, Typhoon! was alleged to have illegally classified the couple as exempt from overtime laws; worked them an average of 10 hours a day, six days a week, without overtime pay, for more than four years; made them perform the Klines' household chores and errands; and threatened to have them deported if they left their jobs. Once the two cooks quit Typhoon!, Steve Kline notified U.S. immigration authorities that the two chefs were no longer in compliance with the terms of their employment visas--called "E-2" visas--granted by the INS. Two weeks after quitting Typhoon!, the two chefs were arrested by the U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service at Portland International Airport, where they had taken their baby in order to send him back to Thailand. The two chefs were held in the INS lockup from Dec. 12 to 16.
Forced Labor2004
United States US
A federal judge in Denver recently awarded the men $7.8 million in what immigration experts described as the largest judgment of its kind in the country. That ruling came after the contractors offered no defense to charges that they deducted smuggling fees, rent and cleaning charges from the workers' paychecks and used the threat of violence to make sure the men complied. A GRAND-JURY INDICTMENT In the fall of 2004, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents began surveillance on the camp. They documented dozens of men living there in cramped, filthy conditions. But they also saw the men coming and going in their own cars, and talking on telephones. A grand jury indicted Moises and Maria Rodriguez and their son, Javier Rodriguez, on charges of harboring and transporting illegal immigrants. Federal authorities seized the property and more than $128,000 in cash. When they searched the two mobile homes near the barracks, they found two pistols and ammunition. In 2006, Moises and Maria Rodriguez each served nearly a year in jail and were then deported to Mexico. Javier Rodriguez - an American citizen - also pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to home detention. Family members who answered the door at his apartment in Brighton last week said he did not want to be interviewed for this story. While the workers told investigators they were being mistreated and were being held against their will - at least psychologically - federal prosecutors did not pursue charges of involuntary servitude against the Rodriguezes. The reason was simple: The surveillance tapes showed the workers coming and going, and it would have been difficult to convince a jury that they couldn't have escaped. "We have a higher burden of proof in the criminal matter than in the civil matter, and we would have to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt," said Jeffrey Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver.
CSEC2004
United States US
Valle-Maldonado pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import and harbor aliens for the purpose of prostitution, importation of aliens for purposes of prostitution, and brining illegal aliens to the US. She was sentenced to 54 months in prison and ordered to pay $135,542 to nine of the victims. Three of her associates have also been convicted related to the case: Javier Sandoval-Garcia, Jose Velasquez-Garcia, and Juan Gregorio Martinez-Vasquez. Velasquez-Garcia and Martinez-Vasquez were sentenced to six months in prison.
Sex Trafficking2004
United States US
120 women were arrested....and there were 127 cases. Only 24 of the 120 women identified themselves to police as full-time Kentucky residents. Defendants in 65 of the 127 cases gave police out of state addresses suggesting that the women are perhaps being moved by managers and owners. Details about their intervention has not been released of the safety of the victims.
CSEC2004
United States US
In 2005, federal authorities arrested Mr. England, who was living in Fort Lauderdale, on charges of obtaining and using a passport by fraud. After serving a short sentence in federal prison in California, he went to a state prison to serve out his six-year sentence for the 1977 molesting charges. Federal prosecutors in South Florida said that Mr. England would be transported to Florida in the coming days to face charges of trafficking a minor across state lines for sexual purposes. These “charges will likely prevent a notorious convicted child molester from preying on other children,” said Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States attorney for the Southern District of Florida.If convicted on the additional charges, Mr. England could face life in prison.
CSEC2004
United States US
Gary Gates and Tamisha Heyward operated a sex trafficking ring from their home on the internet. Victims, as young at 14, were forced to perform sex acts. Gates beat women who did not do as he told them, and sexually assaulted many of them. Gates also provided drugs to many of the victims. The victims were kept in their home at 16th St. NE.
Sex Trafficking2004
United States US
Arlan Kaufman, 69, and his wife Linda Kaufman, 62, for over 24 years have operated the Kaufman house in Newton, Kansas. The house was a home for mentally ill patients. Arlan, a licensed social worker, and Linda, a registered nurse, routinely forced and coerced his patients to engage in nude “therapy” sessions. Arlan documented these sessions capturing himself directing the victims to perform sexually explicit acts in front of other patients. In some of the tapes Arlan can be seen sexually assaulting victims. Victims would constantly be forced to do nude labor, where they would tear down a barn, repair barbed wire fences and unload cement bricks from a pickup. The Kaufmans controlled virtually every aspect of the lives of the residents, determining which rooms they would sleep in, what furniture they would be allowed to have, when they would eat, what recreational activities they could engage in, when they could be downstairs and who could enter and leave the house. A “climate of fear” was present with the patients preventing them from contacting friends and family because afraid of consequence.
Forced Criminality2004
United States US
During Girl Fest's protest at Hamaguchi's business address, which was his home address, police threatened to arrest the demonstrators for their peaceful demonstration on the sidewalk in front of the Hamaguchi residence/business address for Video Travel.
Forced Labor2004
United States US
Mariluz Zavala pleaded guilty (November 5, 2004)of forced labor; conspiring to recruit, harbor, transport, house undocumented workers; engaging in extortionate credit transactions and transferring false alien registration cards of 69 Peruvians. Zavala and Jose Ibanez (co-defendent/husband) sheltered these immigrants into one house with squalid & cramped living conditions, 13 of who were minors, and used the earned money of the workers to pay for the mortgage of their three houses. They forced the victims to pay $6,000 to $13,000 for their smuggling fees.
CSEC2004
United States US
In and out of various group homes after years in foster care. picked up by the police December 2005 (16 years old)
CSEC2004
United States US
Adult male and adult female engaged in production of child pornography.
Forced Labor2004
United States US
In August 2004, the three owners were arrested for conspiracy, fraud, harboring aliens, and other crimes. The three were not originally indicted with the August 2004 charges because a violation in the trafficking act came into play. In November 2005 DuPreez pleaded guilty to the charges of conspiracy and harboring aliens and faced a maximum of fifteen years at the time of sentencing in March 2006, but has since become a fugitive. Also Johannes DuPreez was ordered to pay $363,579.40 restitution to the IRS and an additional $50,000 fine. Franciszka DuPreez was ordered to pay $182,036 to the IRS. Another defendant was sentenced to eight months home confinement and fined $2,000.
CSEC2004
United States US
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.
Sex Trafficking2004
United States US
His name is Angel "Skinny" Batista, he was forty years old at the time of his arrest. He is from the Dominican Republic, speaks no English, and was found guilty on charges of murder and promoting prostitution after he killed a customer in his brothel. He used rotating girls, and advertised with business cards in spanish, placed in cash checking stores and restaurants.
Sex Trafficking2004
United States US
Domingo Gonzalez-Garcia, Evodio Gonzalez-Garcia, and Oscar Romero Gonzalez smuggled Domingo’s wife from Mexico to the US in order to force her to engage in prostitution in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Child Labor2004
United States US
Help A Needy Child International (HANCI), which operates an orphanage and a home for destitute children in Sierra Leone’s northern town of Makeni. The scheme went like this: two of the prime suspects currently in police custody Henry Abu and John Gbla would allegedly identify and approach destitute parents and propose to them the adoption of their children by foster parents. The unsuspecting parents who could barely afford food for the family let alone send their children to school fall in for the bait and gladly give away their children.
Sex Trafficking2004
United States US
In May 2005, Guillermo Romero-Flores and Guadalupe Ventura were convicted of two counts of harboring aliens and two counts of harboring aliens for purposes of prostitution. Ventura was also convicted of bringing in an alien for financial gain and transporting an alien for purposes of prostitution. Romero-Flores was sentenced to 27 months of custody, and Ventura to 41 months.
CSEC2004
United States US
http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/facts-and-figures-2010-2011/investigative-programs Forty pimps associated with prostitution activities in central Pennsylvania were identified during the investigation. Additionally, 152 victims of prostitution were identified, 44 of which were recruited or worked as juveniles. On December 7, 2005, 18 subjects were named in two federal indictments. To date, all subjects have been convicted. Sentences ranging from 25 to 40 years in prison have been obtained. http://www.justice.gov/usao/pam/press_releases/2009%20archive/Dillard_05_15_09.htm As the direct result of [a state trooper's] actions in warning prostitutes and pimps of undercover operations and law enforcement sweeps, [a state trooper] enabled the prostitution ring to avoid arrest and prosecution and to continue to prostitute children as young as 12 years’ old at the Gables Truck Stop. Ohio Trafficking in Persons Study Commission, Research and Analysis Sub-Committee, Report on the Prevalence of Human Trafficking in Ohio: Operation Precious Cargo occurred in December, 2005 in Harrisburg, PA. As a result of this investigation 151 victims of prostitution were identified, at least 45 of which were prostituted as children. Seventy-eight of 151 identified victims were from Toledo, the youngest of whom was just 12 years old. Of the 18 traffickers indicted in the Precious Cargo Case, all but one was from Toledo. Sixteen of the traffickers pleaded guilty and received sentences of up to 25 years in prison. Two traffickers were found guilty at trial and received 35 and 45 years in prison. In addition to the 18 traffickers indicted in the Precious Cargo Case, at least six other Toledo based traffickers have been prosecuted for the sex trafficking of women and children by other FBI Divisions. This is the story of Julie, one of the girls who was only 12 years old at the time she was trafficked. Julie* was walking down the street when a man in a car pulled up to talk to her and convinced her to take a ride. She explains, I really didn’t want to ‘cause I was scared but you know how an older person just comes at you like that and you don’t know what to do…He just said we were going to just sit there for a minute and you know a minute turned into days. He was acting all nice and buying me whatever I wanted. At the time she was approached by a trafficker, her home life was chaotic. She lived in poverty with an alcoholic father. When he became intoxicated, yelling would quickly progress to physical assaults. She felt stuck. I did want to leave…because my dad, he’s always drinking and stuff like that and till this day now, he still does it and back then he would slap me and stuff so I didn’t want to stay, you know, but I didn’t want to leave cause that lifestyle, at first I thought it was ok but after being out there and having to do that… At the time of her recruitment Julie was barely connected to school, with special needs and not receiving sufficient grades, she continued to attend in hopes of catching up with her classmates. Over time, and with much convincing from her would be trafficker, Julie ended up hesitantly agreeing to get in the car. Over time he convinced her to be driven to Harrisburg, PA. While there she was taken to a motel to dress in sexier clothing and driven to a truck stop and was expected to sell herself. She was walked over to various trucks, forced to get in and have sex with truck drivers while her “watcher” waited. [He took me] to where all the other girls are, ‘cause he got like five other girls and we was at a motel. We stayed until it got dark like around five or six then went out there and worked. I didn’t know it was going to be a truck stop, I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t think I would have to walk up and down in the cold and having nasty old truck drivers touch me and stuff. I didn’t feel right…I gave the girl the money; the girl held my money after every date I had. * Story provided by Williamson (2008) raw data. Identifying characteristics have been changed to protect the victim.
Sex Trafficking2003
United States US
February 2003, local law enforcement encountered two women who had been raped and left for dead as punishment following their attempted escape from the defendants. Federal law enforcement agents identified two additional female victims and rescued them. A joint Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Federal Bureau of Investigation initiative dismantled the trafficking operation and arrested the defendants. In 2003, four defendants pled guilty to transporting aliens; two defendants pled guilty to involuntary servitude charges; and one defendant pled guilty to conspiracy to commit involuntary servitude. I n M a r c h 2 0 0 3 , A g e n t S e r r a p e r s o n a l l y l i b e r a t e d t w o w o m e n f r o m t h e t r a i l e r s i n w h i c h t h e y w e r e b e i n g h e l d . H e l e d h i s m u l t i - a g e n c y i n v e s t i g a t i v e t e a m f r o m I C E , F B I , a n d t h e H i ≠ d a l g o C o u n t y S h e r i f f ' s O f f i c e t o b r i n g t h e c a s e u n d e r t h e T r a f f i c k i n g V i c t i m s P r o t e c t i o n A c t
CSEC2003
United States US
Quinton Williams operated a prostitution business, and trafficked women (including minors) across state lines. Williams would supervise the victims business, and keep all of their earnings. His sex trafficking business was his only source of income. In 2001 he traveled with victims from Chicago to Indiana, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada.