Mr. Schiff: Lies. All lies. That’s what a group of people running an international human sex trafficking operation did when talking with families and young girls in Guatemala about the girls working good jobs in the United States.
Ms. Whitehill: "They indicated that their daughters in L.A. had jewelry stores and restaurants where the girls could work and they would make a very good living, and they’d be able to send that money home.”
Mr. Schiff: Tricia Whitehill, an FBI special agent in Los Angeles. She and the LAPD; Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE; the Department of Labor; and other local agencies investigated.
Ms. Whitehill: "These poor families in Guatemala were living, literally, in mud huts.”
Mr. Schiff: Whitehill says the girls, ages 12 to just over 20, were brought to L.A. and threatened.
Ms. Whitehill: "They were told they had debts between $10,000 and $20,000 and that they were going to have to work as prostitutes in order to pay that debt off.”
Mr. Schiff: The girls lived in very small apartments and were guarded day and night. In all, convictions for nine people, and they were given prison sentences of between 30 and 40 years. I’m Neal Schiff of the Bureau, and that’s the FBI’s Closed Case of the Week.”
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