Domestic Servitude2011
United States US
Cardiologist Javier Julio Arce, M.D. 58, and his ex-wife, Cristina Mier Arce, 55, were charged with harboring a Bolivian undocumented worker — their maid — for 15 years as a virtual prisoner and using her for their financial gain. On June 23, 2011 a grand jury alleged that they kept the woman in their service as a domestic by telling her she would be arrested and deported if she left their home. They allegedly told her falsely that they were depositing money in a bank account in her name when they knew no such account existed. And after promising the woman — identified only as “I. L.” — a monthly salary, they paid her paid her no more than $20,000 over 12 years as she cared for their children, made their meals and cleaned their home and Dr. Arce’s medical office. The indictment also charges that Cristina Arce refused to return the woman’s passport, despite “repeated requests”, falsely telling her it was lost. The indictment said the Arces recruited “I. L.” to travel to the United States and conspired to harbor and exploit her from 1994 to 2006 at the home they shared at 718 Freeman Lane in Elizabethtown. It says that after the couple divorced, Dr. Arce harbored the woman for financial gain from 2006 to 2009 at his residence at 2605 Stonemill Drive in Elizabethtown.
Domestic Servitude2011
United States US
Juna Gwedolyn Babb, 56, and Michael J. Babb, 55, both of Ellenwood, Ga., pleaded guilty in federal court to felony offenses related to a scheme to compel the labor of a young woman from the Kingdom of Swaziland in southern Africa, announced the Department of Justice. “Schemes like this one target the most vulnerable in our society,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The department is committed to prosecuting individuals who engage in acts that exploit individuals who wish to work in our country.” “This case reminds us that modern day slavery is occurring in our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “This young woman believed that she was only traveling to the United States for a brief visit to help with a wedding. Instead, she was compelled to labor for the defendants for more than two years. It is especially disturbing that the victim was exploited by a minister and his wife.” According to the indictment and information presented in court, in or about March 2005, Juna Babb, while visiting the Kingdom of Swaziland, invited the victim, then a 29 year-old cook, to travel to the United States to cater for a family wedding. In fact, there was no wedding, and Juna Babb instead intended to harbor the woman in the United States and compel her to work as a housekeeper in her home for little or no pay. Subsequently, upon the victim’s arrival at the defendant’s home in Ellenwood, Juna Babb concealed her from detection by law enforcement while compelling her housekeeping services from in or about June 2005, through in or about February 2007. During this time, Juna Babb also threatened the victim over the debt she owed for her travel to the United States, and with arrest and deportation because she was in the United States illegally. Michael Babb, a minister, knew of his wife’s harboring of the victim, as well as the fact that Juna Babb was compelling the victim’s labor. However, Michael Babb failed to notify an authority of the United States as soon as possible of the alien harboring, and affirmatively concealed his wife’s crime by denying that the victim worked as the defendants’ housekeeper to special agents of the FBI. Juna Babb pleaded guilty to the offense of harboring an alien for financial gain, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Michael Babb pleaded guilty to the offense of misprision of a felony for concealing his wife’s criminal conduct and for lying to federal agents. This offense carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
CSEC2011
United States US
Within a few days, Sgt. Patrick McNulty, Detectives Peter Conley and Richard Ruggiero found her inside a second-floor apartment at 123 Pinehurst Ave., near Providence College. They arranged for her to meet an undercover detective on the pretense of a “date" from backpage.com. When she offered to perform sex acts for $150 or $250, the police took her into custody. Fakhoury, who was in the next bedroom, and Defeis were also arrested, because the police found about a pound of marijuana and packaging material inside the apartment, Correia said. Police say two New York men enslaved teenagers as young as 16 in Rhode Island and forced them into prostitution. Fakhoury was given 10 years of prison time and 10 years probation for
CSEC2011
United States US
Davis was arrested earlier this year after the FBI launched an investigation when they saw a photo of a girl they knew to be under the age of 18 on the website Backpage.com.
Forced Labor2011
United States US
A Georgia couple accused of harboring illegal aliens for commercial advantage and then laundering the proceeds was arrested November 2011 following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Criminal Investigations Division and the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. An alleged scheme involving more than $400,000 earned by an Evans couple through the use of illegal immigrants brought the husband and wife before a federal judge Monday. Hugo Diaz, 43, and Blanca Miranda de Diaz, 42, of Evans, Ga., appeared in federal court after being indicted by a federal grand jury. The indictment also charges four of the illegal aliens with unlawful entry into the United States. The indictment charges Hugo and Blanca Diaz with four counts of harboring illegal aliens and one count of money laundering conspiracy. Hugo is also charged with 10 counts of money laundering. Each of these crimes carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of proceeds from Diaz's crimes, including multiple parcels of real estate in Georgia and South Carolina, as well as 10 vehicles. The indictment says the couple sheltered the immigrants, then used five Suntrust bank accounts to spend the illegally gained money. That earned them one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and nine counts of money laundering. Authorities did not say if the illegal imigrants worked for Diaz, who owns De La Fuente construction in Grovetown, according to the Better Business Bureau. One of the transactions listed in the indictment include a wire transfer to someone in Mexico with the last name Diaz De La Fuente. Other transactions include a $173,380 over-the-counter withdrawal to an Augusta law firm handling a real estate transaction and a $50,000 over-the-counter withdrawal for a pool company. The indictment includes a forfeiture list of property the U.S. government intends to seize as alleged gains from the conspiracy. Those properties listed are one on Grace Avenue, two Augusta homes on the 2900 block of Aylesbury Drive and 100 block of Clark Street, and several lots in the Green Acres subdivision on Metz Drive in North Augusta. Ten vehicles, including a 2008 Lexus sedan, several pickup trucks and 15-passenger van, are also on the forfiture list. The defendants went before U.S. Magistrate Leon Barfield, who explained through an interpreter their legal rights and the charges they faced. All the defendants pled not guilty; they will remain in federal custody pending a case resolution. The Diaz couple face up to 10 years in prison for each count of the indictment.
Bonded Labor2011
United States US
Huong Thi "Kelly" McReynolds, 58; Joseph Minh McReynolds, 36; Vincent Minh McReynolds, 32; and James Hartful McReynolds, 60, of Flagstaff, AZ were charged in a federal indictment July 21, 2011 with exploiting Vietnamese nationals for nearly a decade in an elaborate forced labor scheme at their I Do, I Do Wedding Shop in Flagstaff. According to the indictment, the McReynolds family brought the victims into the United States by offering them a better life, including assurances of marriage to U.S. citizens and educational opportunities. Shortly after the victims arrived, they discovered those were false promises. Instead, the victims were forced to work long hours in the McReynolds' home and business with little or no pay. "Huong Thi McReynolds and her family lured these victims to the United States on the promise of the American dream; what the victims got instead was indentured servitude," said U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke. "The defendants created a climate of fear inside their home and business by carrying firearms, berating the victims and threatening to physically harm them and shame their families in Vietnam. They weren't just exploited for their labor; they were robbed of their basic human dignity." "Through fraud and coercion, the McReynolds family engaged in modern-day slavery to support their business and live an easy life on the backs of these exploited victims," said Matt Allen, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Arizona. "Working with our partners at the FBI and Department of Labor, HSI was able to document nearly a decade of abuse perpetrated by these defendants, who will now face justice for their actions." The indictment alleges that, beginning in September 2001, Huong McReynolds brought Vietnamese nationals to Flagstaff, where she and her family housed them and forced them to work seven days a week at the bridal shop. Until at least December 2008, Huong McReynolds and her two sons, Joseph and Vincent, compelled the victims to work long hours with little or no pay. Between September 2001 and December 2008, the Vietnamese workers cycled through the bridal shop, with their "employment" ending when they escaped or were "evicted." Members of the McReynolds family, including Huong, Joseph and James, each married Vietnamese victims. The victims believed they would be entering legitimate marriages with the McReynolds family members. Huong McReynolds shepherded the victims through the visa process and coached them for their interviews at the consulate. Once the victims were in the United States, Huong McReynolds confiscated their passports and identification, and informed them they would not only be working at her home, but also long hours in their bridal shop. Despite their marriages to the victims, Huong McReynolds and James McReynolds, who divorced in 1996, continued to live together as husband and wife. Both before and after Joseph McReynolds' marriage to one of the Vietnamese victims, he was living with a U.S. citizen with whom he fathered children, both before and during his fraudulent marriage.
CSEC2011
United States US
A male, 26, with previous misdemeanor convictions for burglary of a vehicle and drug possession A female, 19, sentenced to deferred-adjudication probation in a prostitution case The suspects, according to a Fort Worth Police Report, contacted the 17-year--old victim through mocospace.com and then forced her to participate in prostitution against her will. Primary Source(s): Internet--News Media (http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/02/28/2884606/3-arrested-in-human-trafficking.html) Secondary Source(s): Internet--News Media (http://www.examiner.com/human-trafficking-in-fort-worth/police-arrested-three-people-case-involving-human-trafficking)
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
A 12 year old girls, was abducted from Washington , DC and taken to Atlantic City, N.J., to work as a prostitute. According to trafficker’s plea agreement, he took her there for a weekend where he had her work as a prostitute and taking all the money she earned. The girl had been reported missing on May 26, 2010. The girl was rescued on June 7, 2010, from a Laurel motel room by the task force after she called a relative when the trafficker was out. She told police that the trafficker had said they would have sex when he returned. The trafficker, who was arrested when he returned to the motel, initially claimed he thought the girl was 22 and denied having sex with her. He later admitted that he picked her up on the street in Washington and paid her for sex in the back seat of his car. He recruited her to work for him as a prostitute and then drove her to Atlantic City, where she performed multiple sex acts with adult males, according to his plea agreement. (US district judge) A federal judge in Baltimore has sentenced to a prison for transporting the girl across state lines to engage in prostitution. He was to serve 121 months in prison followed by 20 years of supervised release. The trafficker pleaded guilty in March. On his release from prison, he must also register as a sex offender where he lives, works and goes to school.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
The 27 year old trafficker was arrested in July 2011 on bribery of a law enforcement officer, procuring for prostitution a minor under 18 (2 counts), sex trafficking (2 counts), lewd and lascivious battery (3 counts) and unlawful sexual activity with a minor (2 counts). The 25 year old police officer was charged in July 2011 with sexual battery by a law enforcement officer, lewd battery and official misconduct. He resigned from his position as a law enforcement officer the same day as he was arrested.
CSEC2011
United States US
Jarell Sanderson, 31,of New Britain, CT forced two 14 year old girls to work as prostitutes. He pleaded guilty in January 2011 to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children and two counts of sex trafficking of children. Sanderson's codefendant, Hassanah Delia, 24, of East Hartford pleaded guilty in December 2010 to two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. The two girls, both 14, had run away from a state Dept. of Children and Families (DCF) shelter in 2009, according to information provided in a release by the U.S. Attorney's office. After running away from the shelter, the teens went to Sanderson and Delia for help, according to court documents. Sanderson and Delia used Internet ads to sell the girls for sex at hotels and motels in Hartford and East Hartford. Prosecutors said the teens resisted, but Sanderson threatened to kill them. According to prosecutors, Delia convinced the two girls to join the escort business she participated in by telling them that they would make money. Delia would receive phone calls for sex and send the girls, while Sanderson posted the internet ads on the website Cityvibe, using fake names for the teens, but real pictures of them. In court documents, the girls said they called Delia "Ma" and Sanderson "Pa". The pair would provide alcohol and marijuana for the girls before taking them to the hotels to perform sex acts, prosecutors said.
CSEC2011
United States US
Jerome Burns, convicted May 31, 2011. The 14 year old victim, Jane Doe, was previously enslaved by a child trafficker who sold her for sex in Hayward, San Jose and Salinas, CA. In December 2009, Jerome Burns approached the victim, who thought Burns was a john. Burns took Jane Doe and kept her in his hotel room, where he forced her to commit an act of prostitution for money and also had one of his friends use her services. Burns also forced the minor to orally copulate him twice and raped her twice as well. Burns also forced her to pose for provocative photos and posted them online on Craigslist and myredbook.com.
CSEC2011
United States US
Soloman Manasseh Mustafa Age:37 Home Town: Stone Mountain Charged on May 18, 2011. charges of sex trafficking, kidnapping, transporting women across state lines for prostitution, and document servitude. Mustafa faces additional charges associated with receiving child pornography and the coercion or enticement of a minor for sex. Kalandra Annette Wallace Age: 24 Hometown: Jonesboro charges of sex trafficking, kidnapping, transporting women across state lines for prostitution, and document servitude The indictment accuses Mustafa and Wallace of luring young women via dating advertisements on Craigslist, Backpage and other Internet websites, then kidnapping and often physically assaulting or raping them, and locking them in hotel rooms or apartments where they forced them to engage in prostitution. At least two women were bound with duct tape, secured in a closet and then taken to Homewood, Ala. where they were forced to have sex with male customers, according to the indictment. Others were forced to inhale what they believed to be cocaine. Two other victims were handcuffed to a bed to prevent them from fleeing, the indictment stated. Five victims in all. Mustafa is also accused of attempting to entice a 14-year-old girl via text messaging into sending photos of herself to him and then becoming his sex slave, according to the indictment The case spread across metro Atlanta jurisdictions and involved the Atlanta, Gwinnett, Marietta, Sandy Springs, Holly Springs, DeKalb and Clayton police departments as well as the Homewood, Ala., police.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
The Homewood Police Department investigated the crime after a referral from DHR. The police found that the child in question had been forced by the two traffickers to engage in sexual activities with a 36 year old man. The mother and grandmother arranged for the man to meet the child in a motel room. The US Marshall Service Fugitive Task Force arrested the man charged with the molestation of the child in question. The two traffickers were also arrested by the Homewood Police Department. All three perpetrators were charged with human trafficking, sodomy, and sexual abuse of a child under 12. Sources: http://birmingham.myfoxal.com/news/crime/two-women-wanted-sodomy-prostitution-child/72404 http://www.myfoxal.com/story/14368591/another-suspect-arrested-in-homewood-human-trafficking-case?redirected=true
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
30-year-old Jerald Bland, aka “Moe Betta,” was charged by a federal grand jury with sex trafficking of two minors and one adult, as well as transporting one adult and one minor for the purposes of prostitution, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced on October 2, 2011 The five-count indictment returned by the grand jury today, alleges that beginning in March 2010 through June 2010, Bland used force, fraud, or coercion to cause two minors and one adult female to engage in commercial sex acts. Bland is also accused of transporting one minor and one adult female from Texas to Louisiana to engage in prostitution in violation of federal statutes.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
Maria Rojas aka “Nancy” and Jose Luis Rojas entered their pleas to both conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens as well as the sex trafficking conspiracy before U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes on November 28, 2011. The two were charged with a conspiracy involving the recruitment of Mexican women and girls to travel to the United States with the false expectation of legitimate jobs in bars and restaurants. The indictment, returned Feb. 15, 2011, alleged that the conspirators further relied on the services of pimps to supply the women for use as prostitutes to maintain control of the women. Maria Rojas, 46, was the owner of La Costenita, formerly Playa Sola, as well as El Club Restaurante, formerly La Cueva Restaurante Bar, both located on Clinton Drive in Houston. Jose Luis Rojas, 38, operated La Costenita. Eight others were also charged in the indictment with conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens. Javier Guevara Belmontes, 46, also owned, controlled and operated La Costenita and El Club Restaurante. Maday Martinez, 34, and Evelin Carolina Aguera, 37, worked as managers, while Claudia Perez Ramirez, Silvano Santos aka “Chivas,” Francisco Maradiaga Jimenez aka “Pancho,” and Olvan Ramirez Caceres worked at La Costenita as lookouts alerting police presence. The final defendant, Aleyda Juarez, passed out condoms and charged the females $15 for the condom as well as use of the rooms. Aguera, Santos, Perez Ramirez, Maradiaga Jimenez, Ramirez Caceres and Juarez have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced. Their sentences for their roles in conspiracy to harboring illegal aliens has ranged from eight to 11 months and all will be deported upon completion of their sentences. Martinez has also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. The remaining defendant, Belmontes, is scheduled for trial Feb. 27, 2012..
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
The arrest and conviction of Mikoloyck resulted from an undercover law enforcement sting operation called Operation Guardian Angel. "On Saturday, January 29 2009, Mikoloyck responded to an online advertisement that said, in part, 'While there mommas away these girls will play. My girlfriend is out of town her daughters are ready to play with you. Be the first for the little girls ...' (sic). Mikoloyck engaged in a series of e-mails with the undercover officer, who was posing as the pimp, in which he discussed the price for a 16-year-old girl. The next day, Mikoloyck engaged in another series of e-mails with the undercover officer, and further discussed the deal for the 16-year-old girl over the phone. The following day, Jan. 31, 2009, Mikoloyck engaged in another series of e-mail and telephone conversations with the undercover officer, and agreed to pay $100 to take the 16-year-old girl outside the residence for sex for half an hour. Mikoloyck drove from Overland Park to the agreed-upon meeting place, but when he wasn’t able to reach the undercover officer by phone, returned to Overland Park. After making contact with the undercover officer, he then drove back to the location. When Mikoloyck arrived at the house, he paid the undercover officer $100 and was arrested."
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
Operation Guardian Angel was created and executed by the Human Trafficking Rescue Project, a joint task force from the Independence PD, the Kansas City MO PD, ICE, and FBI. On April 23, 2010, Doerr was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison. Specific sentencing info was not found. 7 men were arrested during the course of this 2-month sting operation. All of the perpetrators were charged with attempted commercial sex trafficking of a child and using the Internet and telephone to attempt to induce a child to engage in prostitution, and all seven defendants have been indicted and convicted in "the nation’s first-ever federal prosecution of the alleged customers of child prostitution under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act."
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
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.
Forced Labor2011
United States US
Abrorkhodja Askarkhodjaev, 32, from Uzbekistan pleaded guilty in October to four charges. He contended his marriage to an Independence woman had been real, and not a sham engineered to win him a permanent U.S. residency card. The woman testified that she married him in exchange for $5,000 and never consummated the relationship. She later pleaded guilty to a federal marriage fraud charge. Askarkhodjaev brought more than 1,000 foreign laborers to the Kansas City area by fraudulently manipulating a complex work visa program. He and his co-conspirators negotiated contracts with some of Kansas City’s finest hotels and resorts to put those laborers to work. Watching his pennies, he larded fees for uniforms, housing and transportation onto his workers’ paychecks and had some of them working for less than $1 per hour. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Ortrie Smith ordered that he be deported when his sentence is completed. Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/05/09/2863391/12-year-sentence-handed-down-in.html#ixzz1M3qqKaXJ Askarkhodjaev managed a scheme that lured foreign workers to Kansas City with promises of good jobs in hotels and other service industries. Prosecutors say more than 1,000 workers were instead treated as slaves, warned that their temporary visas could be pulled and suffered threats of harm to their families. The workers, mainly from the Philippines, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, paid thousands of dollars to Giant Labor to come to the U.S. with temporary visas. But once they arrived, they lived in small, sparsely furnished apartments, had no access to their mail and were charged so many fees that they sometimes owed the company money. The enterprise illegally made more than $6 million, prosecutors said. Eleven other people were charged in the case, which prosecutors say was one of the largest labor racketeering schemes ever uncovered in the U.S. According to the indictment, Askarkhodjaev owned and operated a labor leasing company, Giant Labor Solutions, at 607 Westport Road in Kansas City. Through Giant Labor and a dozen other businesses that he associated with or controlled as part of the criminal enterprise, Askarkhodjaev secured fraudulent labor leasing contracts from clients in the hotel/resort, casino, and construction industries in Missouri, Kansas, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, South Carolina and Wyoming. The criminal enterprise allegedly used illegal aliens as part of its workforce to fulfill labor contracts for housekeeping, cleaning services and other duties. Giant Labor’s workforce was predominately comprised of foreign nationals, the indictment says, who either entered the United States illegally, overstayed their visas, or did not have legal authorization to reside or work in their specific locations within the United States during their term of employment. http://kansascity.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/kc052709.htm
CSEC2011
United States US
Don L. Elbert III forced three underage sisters into prostitution, he was sentenced to eight years in prison, 15 years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $524,571 in restitution.
CSEC2011
United States US
Please also see related posts: http://www.slaverymap.org/index.html?show=257 and http://www.slaverymap.org/index.html?show=479 At approximately 9:33 a.m. on March 5, 2009, Steven C. Albers, 42, of Kansas City-North, responded via e-mail to an ad that advertised “little girls available.” The ad’s content clearly advertised the children for sex. Albers requested a lunch hour meeting so that he would have time to drive from his office near the Country Club Plaza. The undercover officer responded that he had an 11-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl available for sex. In a follow-up e-mail, Albers said he wanted to spend an hour with an 11-year-old girl at a cost of $100. In an e-mail later that morning, Albers said he wanted to spend half an hour with the 11-year-old girl but would pay an extra $20 to go “bareback,” referring to sexual intercourse without a condom, for a total price of $80. When Albers arrived at the undercover house for the meeting at approximately noon, he provided the cash to the undercover officer and the arrest team came out from the bedroom. Albers took off running out the front door. The arrest team chased him out the front door and caught him in the neighbor’s front yard, placing him under arrest at that time. Albers also admitted that he had responded earlier to the undercover advertisements that were part of Operation Guardian Angel on three separate occasions in January and February, in which he also tried to arrange a meeting to pay for sexual activity with the child being sold as a prostitute by her pimp.
CSEC2011
United States US
From 2002 to 2008 (exact dates unknown) Michael L. Buck “recruited, harbored, transported, provided and obtained females to engage in commercial sex acts through threats of serious harm, physical restraint and force.” On May 12, 2010, Buck pleaded guilty to trafficking women into involuntary servitude and coerced commercial sex. Buck admitted he obtained females to engage in commercial sex acts, and that he caused them to engage in commercial sex acts through threats of serious harm, physical restraint, and force. Buck utilized a phone service, Quest, to advertise the women for sexual acts in Kansas City, Mo., and in Independence, Mo., and obtained customers from both Missouri and Kansas. He sold the women in such locations as apartments, houses, motels and strip clubs. According to court documents, Buck would often beat, burn, choke, cut and tie up his female victims if they refused to engage in prostitution
CSEC2011
United States US
According to an affidavit that was filed in support of the original criminal complaint, an informant contacted law enforcement officers on March 28, 2011, to report a possible extortion attempt against him. The informant told police officers that he was contacted on Facebook by a female who claimed to be 17 years old, and began to chat online with her and exchanged telephone numbers. The informant and the minor female met at her house and had sexual intercourse, the affidavit says, and they agreed to meet again the next day. When the informant returned the next day and they began to have sexual intercourse, McKinney allegedly entered the room and confronted the informant. McKinney allegedly told the informant that the female was 16 years old, and that their sexual intercourse the previous day had been recorded. According to the affidavit, McKinney demanded that the informant pay him $400 so that he would not tell the authorities. They walked to an ATM together, the affidavit says, and the informant withdrew $100 and gave it to McKinney. They allegedly arranged to meet at a later date for the rest of the money. On April 7, 2011, the affidavit says, the informant agreed to meet with McKinney in order to exchange the money for the original video copy of the sexual encounter. The affidavit alleges that McKinney sent a text message to the informant, instructing him to put $500 in a sealed envelope and give the envelope to a security guard at Devry University. After the exchange occurred, the affidavit says, police officers saw McKinney approach the security desk and get the envelope containing the money from the security guard. McKinney was arrested. When investigators searched the minor’s cell phone, they found several images of child pornography depicting the minor, including sexually explicit photos of McKinney and the minor as well as sexually explicit photos of the informant and the minor.
Domestic Servitude2011
United States US
Elina Sihombing Age: 47 Recruiting, harboring and transporting individuals for the purpose of forced labor, and removing or confiscating the victims' immigration documents David Girle Age: 54 Both of them are owners of America's Best Value Inn on Picacho Avenue in Las Cruces, NM. The couple was charged with "obtaining the labor and services of two Indonesian women by force, threats of force and physical restraint" according to a criminal complaint by the U.S. Department of Justice. According to the criminal complaint, in 2004, Sihombing and Girle allegedly brought the first of their two alleged victims from Indonesia to Phoenix, Ariz., where they were then living, as a nanny for their toddler and with the understanding that the alleged victim would have the opportunity to obtain an education and prepare for a career. Instead, the victim allegedly was forced to work as a nanny and household help and assisted with remodeling of the couple's residence from 8 a.m. to midnight every day, but was never paid for her work and was never given an opportunity to attend college as she was promised. The complaint alleges that, in 2005, Sihombing and Girle brought another woman to Phoenix from Indonesia who did the same type of work for the couple without any pay. The complaint further alleges that on July 27, 2007, Sihombing and Girle moved to Las Cruces where they purchased America's Best Value Inn and lived on the motel grounds. Sihombing and Girle allegedly told the two victims that, after the motel was remodeled and sold, they would be paid for their labor, according to the complaint. Sihombing and Girle allegedly required their victims to work from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. every day with no days off. The victims were not allowed to leave the motel and were only allowed access to their families in Indonesia if the contact was monitored by the couple, the complaint alleges. In 2009, the victims allegedly asked Girle about their immigration documents, and he told them he had them for safekeeping. Girle also advised them that their visas had expired. Sihombing allegedly withheld food from the victims as punishment and also threatened to call immigration authorities if the two did not do as Sihombing demanded. The complaint alleges that this type of treatment continued until Jan. 4, 2010, when the two victims left the motel.