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Feds bust girl-smuggling ring in Jersey
An international ring smuggled girls as young as 14 into the U.S. from Honduras and forced them to work as virtual slaves in New Jersey bars - and endure brutal beatings if they protested, authorities said yesterday.
Some of the girls were raped by smugglers and those who became pregnant were forced to take abortion drugs so they could stay on the job, prosecutors said.
"This was inhumane and sadistic treatment of young women who were kept as virtual slaves," said Newark U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie. "These are among the most vile crimes I've seen."
The alleged ringleader, Luisa Medrano, 50, of Cliffside Park, N.J., and nine other suspects, some in Honduras, were charged yesterday with alien smuggling and other crimes that could get them up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
An indictment handed up in Newark alleged smugglers promised the victims jobs as waitresses - but instead forced them to drink and dance with customers at Medrano's three Hudson County bars.
The women were paid $240 for working up to seven days a week - but nearly all the money went to the smuggling ring, which charged $10,000 to $20,000 to bring them to the U.S.
Christie said girls who objected were treated brutally. "One 15-year-old was beaten so badly blood vessels were broken in her eyes and a 14-year-old was beaten with a belt that raised welts all over her body," he said.
He said 10 young women were victimized from mid-2003 until January, when the ring was smashed. But at least 20 others are believed to have been enslaved. The probe is continuing. The victims already identified and located are now under federal protection and getting counseling and schooling, Christie said. He said they're eligible to seek visas to remain legally in the U.S.
NY Daily News ~ Leo Standora ** Feds bust girl-smuggling ring in Jersey
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