Man forced migrants to work on farms and raped 16-year-old he kidnapped twice, feds say
A man forced migrants from Guatemala to work on farms in New York and raped a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant, whom he’s accused of abducting twice, federal prosecutors said.
Augusto Mateo Francisco, 32, of Dunkirk, is facing forced labor, sex trafficking and kidnapping charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York announced in a Dec. 15 news release.
John Joseph Morrissey, Francisco’s appointed federal public defender, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Dec. 18.
Francisco is accused of helping Guatemalan migrants enter the U.S. and taking them to the area of Dunkirk, a city along Lake Erie, to work at farms, prosecutors said.
He threatened two individuals with deportation and said he’d hurt their families if they refused to continue working for him or didn’t pay him “money they purportedly owed,” according to prosecutors.
Francisco also “pursued a sexual relationship” with a 16-year-old who came to the U.S. from Guatemala with her mother, prosecutors said.
He raped the teen on several occasions and threatened to hurt her siblings in Guatemala if she spoke out about the rapes, according to officials.
In May 2020, Francisco kidnapped the teen and kept her inside a trailer in Ripley, about 25 miles southwest of Dunkirk, for nearly two weeks before police rescued her, prosecutors said.
As the teen and her mother tried fleeing to Georgia, Francisco followed them and kidnapped the 16-year-old a second time, according to officials.
He took her back to New York and “unlawfully held her for several more days, until she was again rescued by police,” officials said.
As for the other Guatemalan migrants who worked on farms near Dunkirk, Francisco charged them for housing and transportation to work and took a cut of their pay, according to prosecutors.
From September 2018 through September 2020, he caused two migrants to believe that if they “did not perform such labor and services” for him, they “would suffer serious harm,” the indictment says.
A grand jury has indicted Francisco on two counts of forced labor, one count of kidnapping a minor and one count of transportation of a minor for the purpose of illegal sexual activity, the attorney’s office said.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the release.
Dunkirk is about 50 miles southwest of Buffalo.
Human trafficking
Forced labor and sex trafficking are recognized as two “primary forms” of human trafficking in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of State.
“With an estimated 27.6 million victims worldwide at any given time, human traffickers prey on people of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities, exploiting them for their own profit,” according to officials.
Industries where trafficking victims are forced to work include hospitality, restaurants, agriculture, construction, landscaping, factories, home care, salons, massage parlors, retail and janitorial, officials said.
In the U.S., children in welfare or juvenile justice systems, such as foster care, are the most vulnerable to human trafficking, officials said.
Children and teens experiencing homelessness, people seeking asylum, people who struggle with substance abuse, migrant laborers, people who identify as part of the LGBTQ community and victims of domestic violence are also more vulnerable to becoming victims of human trafficking
“Traffickers can be strangers, acquaintances, or even family members, and they prey on the vulnerable and on those seeking opportunities to build for themselves a brighter future,” officials said.
Suspected human trafficking can be reported to federal authorities at this State Department listed phone number 1-866-347-2423.
This story was originally published December 19, 2023 at 7:23 AM with the headline "Man forced migrants to work on farms and raped 16-year-old he kidnapped twice, feds say."
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