PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Detention hearings have been delayed again for a married couple accused of using Chinese nationals in a sex-trafficking operation in northern New England.
Federal court officials in Portland, Maine, say 37-year-old Derong Miao, and her husband, 37-year-old Shou Chao Li, will remain in custody pending rescheduled hearings in the near future. Li has hired a New York attorney to represent him.
The Concord, New Hampshire, couple is accused of running the operation at locations in Maine, Vermont and their home state.
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They’re accused of using a messaging system popular in China to lure women to come to the United States on tourist visas to work in the sex trade. Authorities say the scheme involved at least 27 women.
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This story has been corrected to show the defendants’ names are Derong Miao and Shou Chao Li, not Derong Maio and Sou Chao Li.
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