A 31-count indictment handed down last week in federal court in New Jersey accuses 10 persons of operating a smuggling ring that brought young Honduran women into the United States and forced them to work as bar waitresses to pay off $10,000 to $20,000 in smuggling debts.
U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie said the women, mostly from poor villages in Honduras and including some as young as 14, were recruited under the false promise of getting legitimate jobs in restaurants in New Jersey. Brought into the state through Houston, Mr. Christie said they were put to work at several bars owned by the ringleaders and subjected to physical and emotional abuse.
The indictment said some of the women were raped while being smuggled into the United States. It also said they were forced to continually drink alcohol and dance with male customers at the bars to raise money to pay off their smuggling fees. It said those who complained were beaten.
According to the indictment, some of the women were forced to work up to seven days a week from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., and they were threatened with deportation or physical abuse if they did not comply.
The indictment said the women received $240 for 48 hours of work per week, but were being charged by the ringleaders as much as $250 to $500 a week to pay off their smuggling debts.
The indictment said women who became pregnant were forced to terminate their pregnancies so they could continue to be used as “income-producers.” In one case, it said, a 21-year-old woman was forced to take pills intended to induce a spontaneous abortion. The next day, she gave birth to a girl, who later died.
“This was inhumane and sadistic treatment of young women who were kept as virtual slaves,” Mr. Christie said. “These are among the most vile crimes I’ve seen in my time as U.S. attorney, and we will bring the full weight of federal prosecution against these defendants.”
The indictment charged 10 gang members with conspiracy to commit forced labor, forced labor, alien smuggling and harboring illegal aliens.
Those arrested included Luisa Medrano, 50, of Cliffside Park, N.J., a suspected ringleader. A U.S. citizen and native of El Salvador, Miss Medrano is the owner of three bars in Union City, N.J., and Guttenberg, N.J., where the young women worked, the indictment said. She also owned three multi-unit buildings in Union City, where the women were forced to live while they worked to pay off their smuggling debts, it said.
According to the indictment, ringleaders used recruiters in Honduras to find attractive young women, mostly in their teens and early 20s, and alien smugglers to get them into the United States. They also employed “enforcers,” who supervised the women in this country.
The women, although illegal aliens, have been qualified for special visas that will allow them to stay in the United States and become naturalized citizens. Their immediate families can join them and are eligible for the same status.
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