SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Northern California couple has admitted forcing a Guatemalan relative and her two daughters to work long hours under poor conditions. They kept the girls out of school with threats that they would be deported.
Nery Martinez Vasquez and his wife, Maura Martinez, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit forced labor.
Both are naturalized U.S. citizens originally from Guatemala who promised their relative a better life if she came to America in 2016. Instead, they forced family members to overstay their visas and work long hours for little to no pay at their restaurant, Latino's, and janitor service, Redding Carpet Cleaning & Janitorial Services.
According to a press release from the Department of Justice, instead of attending school, the daughters were forced to work for the Vasquez's businesses while living in a run-down, unheated trailer with no water. The release goes on to say the Vasquez's "degraded and humiliated" the victims, and "used force and threats of force to intimidate the victims." The abuse went so far as Nery Martinez Vasquez hitting the two children victims with a stick.
“These defendants used the promise of America to lure the victim and her children to the United States in search of a better life, only to turn around and use that hope to exploit their dreams under cruel conditions,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in the press release.
“This case highlights how the dream of coming to the United States to begin a new, promising life can become a nightmare,” Special agent in charge Sean Ragan of the FBI Sacramento Field Office said in the press release. "The FBI is committed to identifying and investigating human trafficking. We seek justice for victims, regardless of immigration status. We ask the public to report suspected human trafficking and encourage victims to come forward to escape the cycle of exploitation they may feel trapped within."
The Vasquez's are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb on Nov. 8. They face a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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