By Associated Press - Friday, November 4, 2016

MIAMI (AP) - Prosecutors say six young women from Cuba who agreed to work as exotic dancers to pay off a $20,000 smuggling fee were instead forced into sex slavery in Miami.

El Nuevo Hearld (https://hrld.us/2f17kKY ) reports the women were locked up, mistreated and forced into prostitution until they were rescued by police in September.

Court documents show 31-year-old Silvio Clark Morales offered to find them jobs as strippers in Miami. In turn, they agreed to pay him $100 a day from their earnings until they paid off the fee. Once they got to Miami, the women say Morales increased the debt to $55,000 and forced them into prostitution.



Morales was arrested Sept. 6. He faces trial later this month on 16 charges including sexual trafficking. An attorney wasn’t listed on court records.

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Information from: El Nuevo Herald (Miami), https://www.elnuevoherald.com/

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