Mr. Schiff: They were young, and they were forced to become prostitutes.
Ms. Whitehill: "The ages of those women ranged from as young as 12-years-old up to women in their mid-20s.”
Mr. Schiff: Special Agent Tricia Whitehill of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, who says one particular human trafficking case involved 28 young women from Guatemala locked up in small, run-down apartments.
Ms. Whitehill: "There were internal locks that you couldn’t get out of the apartment; the windows were locked down so you couldn’t get out of the windows.”
Mr. Schiff: Whitehill says the victims were recruited for nice jobs in jewelry stores or restaurants. Turns out, they were threatened with serious harm to their families if they didn’t work prostitution in Los Angeles.
Ms. Whitehill: "That was the primary threat that kept many of the victims working for this family for a long period of time was the fear that their own families would be murdered in Guatemala.”
Mr. Schiff: Eventually nine people were convicted on human trafficking charges and sentenced from 30 to more than 40 years. The FBI worked with the LAPD; Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE; the Department of Labor; and other agencies. I’m Neal Schiff of the Bureau, and that’s the FBI’s Closed Case of the Week.”
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