A year later, cases linger in Ohio teen forced labor case
A year later, cases linger in Ohio teen forced labor case
Source: Associated Press
A year later, cases linger in Ohio teen forced labor case
By Mitch Stacy, Associated Press | Posted Jan 23rd, 2016 @ 11:12am
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The third of four people accused of smuggling teens into the U.S. and keeping them as virtual slave laborers at an Ohio egg farm has pleaded guilty to charges in a case that brought national attention to the exploitation of young immigrants fleeing unrest in Central America.
More than a year after federal agents raided a remote, dilapidated trailer park in central Ohio and rescued 10 young Guatemalans, three of the defendants have now taken plea agreements and are awaiting sentencing, which has not been scheduled. The fourth is awaiting trial.
The defendants were at the center of what prosecutors said was a scheme to take custody of the victims at the border, then force them to work at the farm and hand over most of their earnings to pay for their passage to the U.S.
Most recently, Pablo Duran Jr., 23, accused by federal prosecutors of setting up a company to hire and manage the victims' employment at the farm, pleaded guilty in December to a single count of harboring an illegal alien. His attorney declined to comment.
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