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Mother, son convicted of harboring illegal immigrant
By LISE OLSEN
July 27, 2009, 8:29PM

A mother and son connected with Houston cantinas that have been repeatedly identified by federal agents as centers for sex trafficking were convicted of harboring an illegal immigrant last week in federal court.

U.S. District Judge Sim Lake also entered a preliminary order of forfeiture of their house located at 1320 Jennifer Lane in Jacinto City. In March 2008, Jacinto City police officers rescued a teenage girl who claimed to have been held for months at the house against her will.

Gregoria Vasquez-Salgado and her son, David Salazar, both entered pleas of guilty Friday to harboring an illegal alien, according to federal court records. Vasquez, 59, is Mexican; Salazar, 28, is a United States citizen.

On March 7, 2008, Jacinto City police officers entered the Jennifer Lane home and made contact with the teenager, who repeatedly called 911 for help but had been unable to supply her address.

Salazar and Vasquez-Salgado both were initially charged with kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault of a child in Harris County in that case, but the state charges were dropped in December 2008. According to state court documents, the girl claimed to have been duped by Salazar into coming illegally from Mexico to the United States and then being forced to work as a sex slave at their Houston cantina, El Club Guerrero, on Wallisville Road.

Vasquez-Salgado, however, claimed the 16-year-old was her 28-year-old son's girlfriend. Both she and her son denied abusing the girl, but admitted to Jacinto City police officers that the girl had been brought illegally from Mexico, state and federal court records show.

On May 7, 2009, Vasquez-Salgado and Salazar were indicted by a federal grand jury for harboring an illegal alien. Vasquez-Salgado, who has lived for years in Houston, already had been charged with entering the United States illegally. A day later, on May 8, Vasquez-Salgado was sentenced to 12 months in prison for her own immigration violations. Agents arrested her son on when he arrived at the federal courthouse to attend his mother's sentencing.

Vasquez-Salgado remains in custody; Salazar is out on bond. Both are expected to be sentenced on charges of illegally harboring the girl on Oct. 16.

lise.olsen@chron.com


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