Ringleader gets 30 years for teen sex trafficking at Mission bar; 3 others get prison
themonitor.com
Ildefonso Ortiz
The Monitor
August 23, 2011 10:44 PM

A small, olive-skinned, raven-haired teenager sat motionless as she looked across the courtroom at a small man in shackles. He was the one who smuggled her and her two sisters into the U.S. with the promise of well-paid restaurant jobs.

Instead of working a dream job, they were forced to wear stilettos and revealing clothing as they sat and drank beer with various men — who would then grope them, and if they paid the right price, sleep with them. At the time, the three teenagers were 14, 15 and 17.

Tuesday afternoon, that raven-haired teen smiled and hugged her social worker as she heard federal Judge Randy Crane sentence that man to 30 years in prison.

Beleal Garcia Gonzalez, who was the ringleader of the sex trafficking group and the owner of Mission’s Bar El Paraiso, had all his assets in the U.S. seized. Crane also ordered the Mexican citizen to pay close to $230,000 in restitution to the three teens to cover unpaid wages and medical and psychological care. Additionally, Crane ordered Garcia to pay $157 a day to each teen from now until her 21st birthday.

Garcia was convicted last September on three counts of sex trafficking, one count of conspiracy and six counts of harboring illegal immigrants. The girls were rescued in January 2010 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who noticed the girls walking home from the bar on Bentsen Palm Drive south of 5 Mile Line in miniskirts and high heels — on a cold, rainy morning.

Also sentenced in the hearing were three other employees of the bar:

>> Enrique Sarmiento of El Salvador, described as Garcia’s right-hand man, was sentenced to seven years in prison after the judge granted a sealed motion by the prosecution even though he was initially eligible to a much steeper sentence. Crane said that his testimony helped convict Garcia.

>> Jenny Barreda, who was described as the girl’s caretaker and confidant, was sentenced to six years in prison, also after Crane took into consideration her testimony during Garcia’s trial.

>> Elizabeth Mendez Vasquez, who was described as another immigrant who was working at the bar and occasionally would work as a bartender, was sentenced to 27 months in prison.

Unlike Garcia, the other three defendants showed remorse and asked for forgiveness. Despite being described as a broken man by his attorney, Garcia stood before Crane and called the entire proceeding a farce, saying that justice couldn’t be served in this country if a man could be convicted based on lies.

“I was just the owner of the bar, I was hardly ever there,â€