Trafficking in Persons—Prostitution

Six men and two women have been charged in federal court in Houston for allegedly running a sex-trafficking ring.^[1] The individuals were arrested Sunday on the trafficking charges, and 100 women from Central and South America were arrested on immigration charges related to the activity.^[2]

According to the US Attorney’s Office in Houston, the eight defendants are all of Salvadoran extraction, and the women who were trafficked—which includes minors—are hail from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.^[3] The women were lured to the US on promises of monthly waitress wages of $500,^[4] but when they arrived in the United States, they were forced into prostitution to pay off smuggling debts totaling $8,000 to $13,000, which included things such as “coyote” fees, food, housing, clothing, and other miscellaneous items.^[5] One woman told investigators that she earned $500 to $600 a week as a “bargirl” sitting and dancing with restaurant patrons, but when all was said and done, she only netted $50 each week.^[6]

On top of this debt, the women were required to submit to the sexual demands of the defendants, bar patrons, or close associates;^[7] those who refused or tried to leave were coerced with threats to their homes or families.^[8]

The eight individuals have been charged with conspiracy to recruit, transport and force girls and women into commercial sex acts.

Conspiracy
Under 18 U.S.C. § 371, it is a crime for a person to conspire with one other person to commit an offense against the United States and then make an overt act in furtherance of the commission of that offense.

The punishment for a violation of section 371 is a fine, imprisonment for up to 5 years, or both.

Trafficking in Persons for Sexual Activity
Under 18 U.S.C. § 1591(a)(1), it is a crime for a person to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, or obtain by any means a person, knowing that force, fraud, or coercion will be used to cause that person to engage in a commercial sex act. A commercial sex act means “any sex act, on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person.”^[9]

The punishment for an offense involving fraud, force, or coercion is a fine, imprisonment for any term of years or for life, or both.^[10]

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[1] Harvey Rice, 8 People Accused of Smuggling Girls for Prostitution, Houston Chronicle, Nov. 15, 2005, available here.
[2] Id.
[3] US Attorney’s Office, Press Release: Salvadorans Arrested and Charges with Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking, Nov. 14, 2005, available here [hereinafter USAO].
[4] Rice, supra note 1.
[5] USAO, supra note 3.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Rice, supra note 1.
[9] 18 U.S.C. §1591(c)(1).
[10] Id. § 1591(b)(1).