WASHINGTON, DC (DOJ) — A Florida man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for smuggling Mexican women and girls into the U.S. and forcing them into prostitution.
U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez also ordered Juan Luis Cadena-Sosa to pay jointly with his co-defendants more than $964,000 to the victims.
“Juan Luis Cadena-Sosa was a member of a conspiracy that lured young women and girls from Mexico to the United States with false promises of a better life and then forced them into modern day-slavery in a network of brothels that spanned the East Coast,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Becker. “We thank the Mexican authorities for working with us to extradite him from Mexico to face justice in Florida, where the exploitation took place.”
In 1998, 15 defendants were indicted in the matter. Cadena-Sosa remained a fugitive until extradited from Mexico to the United States in November 2007. Nine defendants, including Cadena-Sosa, have now been found guilty in U.S. federal court. One was convicted in Florida state court. Another was convicted on related charges in Mexico. A third died while a fugitive. Three defendants remain at large. Those convicted in U.S. federal court have received prison sentences ranging from 30 months to 15 years.
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