Updated 10:43 am, Thursday, January 21, 2016
La
Feria Club, the sister club where customers met women prostituted
against their will, is adjacent to Las Palmas II, along the 5600 block
of Telephone Road, that was a former cantina and brothel, where ... more
Hortencia "Tencha" Medeles, 70, was convicted during a trial last year that exposed operations at Medeles's three building complex on Telephone Road.
A cantina was located downstairs, and hidden doorways and staircases led to a brothel upstairs where 17 rooms were rented out for sex.
Read about the disturbing scene that has remained frozen in time after the brothel was shut down in Dane Schiller's first person account on HoustonChronicle.com.
Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle
Hortencia Medeles enters the Federal Courthouse, Monday, April 13, 2015, in Houston.
Medeles was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David Hittner.
THE BACKGROUND: Raids against sex trafficking ring land 13 behind bars
Houston is a major hub for sex trafficking due to its size, proximity to the border and large immigrant population.
The ring was built on the backs of women and teenagers who were smuggled into the United States from Mexico and Central American by smooth talking pimps who promised them love and marriage.
When they got to Houston, however, they were beaten, raped and threatened that they as well as their families back home would be killed if they did not perform or tried to escape.
"These girls came to the U.S. looking for their American dream, but instead they found their American nightmare," Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruben Perez told jurors during Medeles's trial. "It took guts for those girls to come here before you and tell you what happened to them."
THE TRIAL: Woman comes face to face with accused sex trafficker
At least 40 people have been prosecuted in connection with the brothel or other sex trafficking rings that are related to the case against Medeles. One man, Alfonso Diaz Juarez, remains a fugitive and is on the run from a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his capture.
"What occurred here was absolutely modern day slavery," said Special Agent Shauna Dunlap, of the FBI's Houston Division. " These women and young girls were forced to commit unspeakable acts in deplorable conditions inside this cantina, and others," she continued. "The longer Diaz-Juarez eludes justice, the greater the chance more women may be victimized."
See the above photo gallery for an exclusive look inside the remains of Medeles's brothel and cantina.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Madam-of-sex-trafficking-brothel-heads-to-federal-6771822.php
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