Texas police: Teen was victim of human trafficking | AP Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

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The Associated Press
Dec. 25, 2009, 9:50PM

SAN JUAN, Texas — A 16-year-old Mexican girl was raped, deprived of food and forced into household labor by a South Texas family who sneaked her across the Mexican border into the United States, police said.

Ofelia Vargas, 45, was arrested Wednesday and charged with failure to report a felony, San Juan Police Chief Juan Gonzalez said. Her daughter, Belen Vargas, 17, has been charged with misdemeanor assault. Police are searching for her son, Benito Vargas, 17, who was last seen at the girl's home in Jalisco, Mexico.

Ofelia Vargas was being held in Hildago County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bond. Belen Vargas was in custody at the La Villa Detention Center in lieu of $45,000 bond. She was being held on an unrelated marijuana possession charge.

Neither Vargas nor her daughter could be reached for comment.

Gonzalez said police believe Benito Vargas sexually assaulted the girl and that his mother did not respond to her cries for help. Gonzalez also said the girl's family told authorities Benito Vargas went to their home searching for her after she disappeared and tried to intimidate them.

The police chief told The Monitor in McAllen it's not uncommon for girls and women to be lured north across the border under false pretenses. He said the 16-year-old "came over with the intent of a better life, but what she walked into was a nightmare."

The teen was beaten on several occasions, rarely fed and forced to sleep on a couch outside, he said. She escaped this week through a window in the house.

A neighbor took her to a shelter where she was under police supervision, Gonzalez said.

Police said Benito Vargas may face additional charges, including unlawful restraint and human trafficking.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6787293.html

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