JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT
IN TEXAS HUMAN TRAFFICKING CASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced that four Texas individuals have been indicted regarding allegations of human trafficking. The individuals, three brothers and an associate, were charged with holding illegal aliens in “safe houses” near the US-Mexico border, extorting money from aliens’ families through threats, holding female aliens in involuntary servitude to cook and clean, as well as raping them. Three of the men will be arraigned today in McAllen, Texas.

“Human trafficking is more than just a serious violation of the law; it is an affront to human dignity,” said Attorney General John Ashcroft. “The Justice Department will aggressively investigate and prosecute those who so callously traffic in human lives.”

The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, charges Juan Carlos Soto, Armando Soto-Huarto, Hector Soto, and Martín Cortez-Gutierrez with violating federal civil rights, extortion, hostage taking and immigration statutes, as well as several firearms offenses. Juan Carlos Soto, Armando Soto-Huarto and Martin Cortez-Gutierrez are currently in custody. Hector Soto is still at large.

“The gross indignities forced by human traffickers upon those who rely on them demonstrates yet again that the motives of the trafficker are grounded in greed and self-gratification,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Shelby. “We are resolute in our commitment to hold accountable those responsible and determined to see justice done.”

The indictment alleges that from July 2002 through April 2003, the Soto brothers ran an alien smuggling and transportation ring. The ring allegedly assisted aliens in crossing the Rio Grande River and transporting them to Houston, Texas. According to the indictment, the Soto brothers would routinely extort money from the aliens and their families through threats of death and sexual abuse at safe houses in Edinburg and Houston, Texas.

The indictment also charges that the Soto brothers held four female aliens in a condition of involuntary servitude. The women had been smuggled into the United States by the Soto organization and believed they would be transported on to Houston. Instead, the Soto brothers held them at the safe houses, forced them to work as domestic servants by day, and raped and beat them in the evening.

The case came to the attention of law enforcement officials after two of the women sought help in the wake of a particularly brutal rape in February 2003. Agents of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE) assisted in freeing two other women from Soto safe houses in March 2003.

Four low-level employees of the Soto brothers have previously pleaded guilty to alien transportation and conspiracy charges. Sentencing for these men is set for September 2003 in McAllen. If convicted the defendants face up to life in prison. The government will also seek restitution for the women who were enslaved.

The victims have been relocated to safe quarters and are receiving immigration and refugee assistance provided for by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA). Since the passage of the TVPA in October 2000, the Justice Department has provided assistance for over four hundred victims of trafficking. More information about the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found on the DOJ website: www.usdoj.gov/trafficking.htm <http://www.usdoj.gov/trafficking.htm>.

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol, with cooperation from the Hidalgo County, Texas Sheriff’s Department, the McAllen, Texas Police Department jointly investigated the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas and the Criminal Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are jointly investigating and prosecuting the matter.

Photographs of the Soto brothers are available for use by print or broadcast media to assist in the apprehension of Hector Soto, as well as to encourage other possible victims to come forward. Individuals with information about Hector Soto’s whereabouts, victims, or other instances of forced labor or involuntary servitude should call the Trafficking in Persons & Worker Exploitation Task Force complaint line at 1-888-428-7581. Operators have access to translation services for non-English speaking callers.

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