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Old 11-14-2009, 11:55 PM
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Jeanfromfillmore Jeanfromfillmore is offline
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Default Human trafficking has been called an unseen crime

BONITA SPRINGS —
Human trafficking has been called an unseen crime, its victims and perpetrators too often hidden from public view.
A Lee County case uncovered this week may shed light on the crime.
Investigators say a Bonita Springs man forced his juvenile wife into prostitution and that for the past three years, the victim, an undocumented immigrant, served as a sex slave for various men.
The arrest, one anti-trafficking crusader said, should “send a message.”
“Human trafficking victims are everywhere and we need to become more vigilant,” said Anna Rodriguez, executive director of the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking.
Meanwhile, a man who lived with the couple disputed the allegations.
“He told me that he was going to take care of her,” Pedro Lopez, 28, said of the suspect in Spanish. “He isn’t at fault. The girl, she’s not a prostitute.”
On Friday, deputies arrested Juan Gomez Domingo, 23, of Sherwood Lane in Bonita Springs, on a felony charge of human trafficking.
He was held in jail on $1 million bond.
Deputies learned of the case when the juvenile victim, whose name and age weren’t provided, gave birth to her second child earlier this week at HealthPark Medical Center.
Hospital staffers, concerned by the mother’s age, reached out to social service agencies. Caseworkers contacted the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
Detective Michael Zaleski soon joined caseworkers to visit the couple’s home.
They found a reluctant victim with a harrowing account, as summarized in a sheriff’s report:
After being smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico three years ago, she was traded among managers at a Homestead nursery and used for sex as payment for her border crossing, she recalled.
Domingo, whose family hailed from the same village as the victim, took her to Bonita Springs. With permission from the girl’s mother, he married her, the report continued.
Life was no easier in Bonita, however.
Domingo’s roommate, not named in the report, knew one of the nursery managers from Homestead, Zaleski wrote.
The woman arranged forced sexual meetings between the victim and the manager in exchange for money, the report said.
When the girl was impregnated for the first time 19 months ago, the roommate left.
Domingo, upon learning of the first child’s birth, began abusing the victim, and he threatened to kick her out of the house unless she earned money through prostitution, the report said.
Intermediaries delivered the girl to area brothels.
Lopez, the roommate, didn’t buy that account.
He said Domingo and his 16-year-old wife moved into the home with Lopez’s family a month ago.
Domingo’s wife had an 11-month-old son, her first child, and was pregnant — so pregnant it was difficult for her to walk.
Before that, the couple lived nearby, Lopez said. He didn’t know them well and didn’t know they were married.
Lopez said the wife had previously been in Homestead, where her violation by another man led to the birth of her first child.
“Juan Gomez is very happy with her,” Lopez said. “She just gave birth, a girl was born and she just arrived home on Wednesday.”
The families of Domingo and his wife knew one another in Guatemala, Lopez said.
Their relationship was normal, he said.
“He went out to buy what she wanted for groceries, and she would say, ‘My love, buy me this, bread, or vegetables’ and he would say, ‘OK,’” Lopez recalled. “They live tranquilly. I don’t know what problems they have, but to us, they seemed fine.”
A second-degree felony carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence upon conviction.
Earlier
A Bonita Springs man faces human trafficking charges after a hospital stay by his juvenile wife uncovered a sex slavery case, according to an arrest report.
Detectives say Juan Gomez Domingo, 23, rescued his young wife from slavery in Homestead only to prostitute her in "various brothels" in Bonita Springs.
He was charged with human trafficking, a second degree felony. His bond was set at $1 million.
Authorities learned of the case when the victim, a juvenile whose name and age were not provided in the report, gave birth to her second child at HealthPark Hospital on Nov. 12. Detectives following up on the case approached the victim and Domingo at their Sherwood Lane home in Bonita Springs.
The girl eventually told deputies she was smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico three years ago. For five months while working at a nursery in Homestead, the victim was traded amongst three managers for sex, she told detectives. The men had told her she owed them for being smuggled into the country, she said.
Domingo, who, according to the report, was aware of the girl's situation and came from the same home country and village, took the victim to Bonita Springs, and, with permission from the girl's mother, married her.
Yet, things became more complicated with the move, according to the report.
Domingo's roommate, who was unnamed in the report, knew one of the nursery managers from Homestead and began arranging forced sexual meetings between the girl and the manager in exchange for money, the report said.
When the girl became pregnant, the roommate took off, the report continued.
Domingo, upon learning of the child's birth, began abusing the victim physically and emotionally, the report stated.
"He threatened to kick her and her child out of the residence if she did not perform acts of prostitution in order to assist in paying the rent," Detective Michael Zaleski wrote in his report.
Domingo began sending his wife to several intermediaries who delivered the girl to brothels in the area, according to the report.
A second-degree felony carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence.
Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott released a prepared statement lauding the collective effort in Domingo's arrest.
"...I could not be more proud of Lee Memorial Health Systems and Catholic Charities of Florida for recognizing the initial indicators," he wrote.
Earlier this year, Scott was appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist to a state task force on human trafficking.
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/...onita-springs/
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Old 11-19-2009, 02:58 AM
Don Don is offline
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It's not unseen at all. Our occupation government sees it, condones it and supports it.
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