Face charges of conspiracy, sex trafficking, forced labor and harboring illegal aliens

Long Island Horror: Sex Traffickers Enslave Teenaged Women

By Jim Kouri
Thursday, August 13, 2009

Federal agents and local police officers arrested two owners and the manager of two bars in Long Island, New York following a sex-trafficking investigation. According to a report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police, the three suspects are accused of trafficking young women and physically forcing them to perform sex acts for customers.

Antonio Rivera, 34, Jasmin Rivera, 31 and John Whaley, 34, all Long Island residents, face charges of conspiracy, sex trafficking, forced labor and harboring illegal aliens.

According to the criminal complaint, the investigation revealed Antonio Rivera, a registered sex offender, and his sister Jasmin Rivera owned and operated the Sonidos de la Frontera bar, located in Lake Ronkonkoma, and the La Hija del Mariachi bar, located in Farmingville. Whaley was employed as a manager for both bars.

From September 2007 through August 2009, the Riveras and Whaley allegedly lured young women, primarily Central American illegal aliens, to work in the bars as waitresses and hostesses. Some of the women were as young as 17 years of age.

Court documents reveal that after the women began working in the bars, the three suspects forced them to engage in sex acts with bar patrons in exchange for money, with the defendants keeping half of the proceeds. When the women refused or resisted, the defendants used physical force, including rape and assaults, and threatened to report the women to immigration authorities.

The suspects also controlled the movement of the women between the bars and other locations in Hempstead, Huntington and Brentwood sections of Long Island, transporting them in vehicles registered to the Riveras and Whaley. The complaint also charges the defendants with conspiring to harbor illegal aliens by concealing the women’s true identities and immigration status from state licensing agencies and law enforcement authorities.

“As alleged in the indictment, these defendants lured innocent young women into the United States with promises of legitimate jobs and the American dream, but once the victims arrived, their dreams turned into nightmares as the defendants used threats and violence to force them into prostitution,â€