Thursday, May 15, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Mexican national pleads guilty to human trafficking
*KUDOS to the hardworking investigators and prosecutors who tirelessly worked almost ten years to see justice!*
By Missy Diaz | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
May 9, 2008
A Mexican national has pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle Mexican women and girls into the United States and force them into prostitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Thursday.
Juan Luis Cadena-Sosa, 43, is one of 16 defendants charged in 1998 with smuggling the women and girls from Mexico to Florida and South Carolina. Cadena-Sosa remained a fugitive until November 2007 when he was extradited from Mexico to the United States.
Nine of the defendants, including Cadena-Sosa, have now been convicted in federal court; one was convicted in state court and another was convicted on related charges in Mexico. A third defendant died while a fugitive. Three remain at large.
According to federal court documents, Cadena-Sosa, his brothers and a nephew operated a number of brothels, some staffed by girls younger than 18, throughout South Florida. The women and girls were smuggled into the country primarily from Veracruz, Mexico, by Cadena-Sosa and his associates. Once in the United States, the women and girls were informed that they owed a debt to the Cadena organization for bringing them here and that they would be required to repay the debt by working as prostitutes. The women were not allowed to leave the organization. Those that tried to escape were tracked down. The men used physical violence and threats of physical harm to intimidate the women and girls, according to court records.
Cadena-Sosa, who pleaded guilty on Wednesday, will be sentenced on Aug. 20. He faces 15 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Prosecutions of human trafficking cases have increased seven-fold over the past seven fiscal years, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Missy Diaz can be reached at mdiaz@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5505.
By Missy Diaz | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
May 9, 2008
A Mexican national has pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle Mexican women and girls into the United States and force them into prostitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Thursday.
Juan Luis Cadena-Sosa, 43, is one of 16 defendants charged in 1998 with smuggling the women and girls from Mexico to Florida and South Carolina. Cadena-Sosa remained a fugitive until November 2007 when he was extradited from Mexico to the United States.
Nine of the defendants, including Cadena-Sosa, have now been convicted in federal court; one was convicted in state court and another was convicted on related charges in Mexico. A third defendant died while a fugitive. Three remain at large.
According to federal court documents, Cadena-Sosa, his brothers and a nephew operated a number of brothels, some staffed by girls younger than 18, throughout South Florida. The women and girls were smuggled into the country primarily from Veracruz, Mexico, by Cadena-Sosa and his associates. Once in the United States, the women and girls were informed that they owed a debt to the Cadena organization for bringing them here and that they would be required to repay the debt by working as prostitutes. The women were not allowed to leave the organization. Those that tried to escape were tracked down. The men used physical violence and threats of physical harm to intimidate the women and girls, according to court records.
Cadena-Sosa, who pleaded guilty on Wednesday, will be sentenced on Aug. 20. He faces 15 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Prosecutions of human trafficking cases have increased seven-fold over the past seven fiscal years, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Missy Diaz can be reached at mdiaz@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5505.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Video
This 30-minute awareness-raising video is courtesy of Shared Hope International, who has also conducted several studies on domestic minor sex trafficking in the United States, including the one below on Clearwater, Florida. Visit their website for more information. The video will also be embedded into the sidebar of this blog.
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