The couple — a 37-year-old su Chou Lee, Derong Mayo — organized a vast network of sex trafficking, and forced Chinese women to sell their bodies, depriving them of food and clothing.
As reported by the Ministry of justice, husband and wife, who are themselves citizens of China, but live in Concord (new Hampshire), were recruited girls through WeChat, promising them huge earnings. The pair then forced them into prostitution, completely isolated from the outside world and controlling their every move.
«Some Chinese women had not previously engaged in prostitution, when I first came to the United States, but are unable to earn a substantial amount of money to pay off debts related to their trip», — said in the indictment.
Lee and Mayo went about their illegal business from July 2016 to February 2018. According to prosecutors, they were able for so long to hide their activities because most immigrants did not speak English, and they had no acquaintances in the United States. In addition, the couple took their «documents, food, clothing, room keys and other items» that they could not escape from it.
Everything else, the couple hired other people outside of Maine to advertise women Backpage.com and to communicate with customers.
Thursday, December 13, during a court session Whether Mayo has declared his innocence.
If Lee and Mayo are found guilty on charges of sex trafficking, they could face 15 years to the maximum penalty for this offence is life imprisonment. In addition, they face charges of conspiracy and transporting prostitutes between States.
You also can go to prison for 5 years for possession of the passport of one of the victims. If they sue, then both defendants will pay a fine of up to $250 thousand and reimburse victims for damages.
