A Champaign man along with Family Members are Sentenced for Kidnapping, Forced Labor, Conspiracy Involving Coercion of Two Minors & Another Victim in Lengthy Scheme

Catarina Domingo-Juan, who is 41 years old, had previously been sentenced on December 18, 2023, to 240 months in prison for her involvement in forced labor and conspiracy to commit these crimes.

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Domingo Francisco-Juan, a 44-year-old individual, received a life sentence today for his involvement in kidnapping, forced labor, and conspiracy to commit these crimes. In addition, the court has mandated that Francisco-Juan pay $50,000 in restitution to one of the victims. His codefendant, Lorenza Domingo-Castaneda, aged 35, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in forced labor and conspiracy to commit such acts. She has also been ordered to pay over $80,000 in restitution to three victims.

On a separate note, Catarina Domingo-Juan, who is 41 years old, had previously been sentenced on December 18, 2023, to 240 months in prison for her involvement in forced labor and conspiracy to commit these crimes. She was also directed to pay over $80,000 in restitution to three victims. It is worth mentioning that all three defendants are siblings and are citizens of Guatemala.

“Forced labor crimes exploit children and some of the most vulnerable members of society and strike at the heart of human dignity,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Francisco-Juan’s sentence is historic, marking the first life sentence in over a decade in a forced labor case under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. These victims, two of them children, were subjected to physical and sexual abuse to compel them to work as domestic servants, hotel maids and factory laborers. We are grateful to the survivors of these crimes for their tremendous courage in coming forward and reporting the violence and abuse they suffered. The sentences imposed in this case should send a message to human traffickers everywhere that there will be severe consequences for their actions and the Justice Department stands ready to hold them accountable for their violent and coercive schemes.”

“The partnerships across all levels of government were imperative in bringing these individuals to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris for the Central District of Illinois. “We appreciate the dedication and time that all the federal, state and local law enforcement agencies involved have committed to this case. We also commend the various victim services organizations, both private and public, who provided support and services to the victims in this case. Labor traffickers are insidious in the way they control their victims, and we will continue the fight to protect endangered members of our society from these horrific crimes.”

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“Today’s sentences shine a bright light on the very real presence of forced labor crimes in our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Sean Fitzgerald of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Chicago. “HSI special agents will continue to fight against the exploitation of the vulnerable and support victims by providing critical resources and services. Well done to the HSI special agents and our law enforcement community partners for bringing these predators to justice.”

The court documents reveal that the siblings, acting as defendants, plotted to transport a young victim from Guatemala to the United States to work in the homes of Domingo-Castaneda and Domingo-Juan from December 2015 to January 2021. Francisco-Juan escorted the victim into the United States by deceiving the victim's mother into believing that the victim would have access to better education and opportunities in the U.S. Domingo-Juan then assumed custody of the victim by falsely asserting to authorities that she was a relative of the victim.

Rather than granting the young victim access to education and improved prospects in the United States, the defendants isolated her from her family and forced her to work tirelessly for their own gain. Domingo-Castaneda and Domingo-Juan pocketed the money she earned from her labor, while Francisco-Juan took advantage of her domestic services.

Court records reveal that Domingo-Castaneda and Domingo-Juan were involved in a scheme to exploit the labor of a minor and an adult victim in their residences and local businesses from December 2018 to March 2021. Just like the initial minor victim, Domingo-Castaneda used deceitful tactics to persuade the minor victim to leave her mother and come to the United States with promises of a better life and education.

However, instead of fulfilling these promises, Domingo-Castaneda, along with Domingo-Juan, forced both victims to work as domestic helpers in their homes and hand over all their earnings from working at local businesses.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, in collaboration with the Champaign Police Department, Champaign County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, and Champaign County State’s Attorney’s Office.

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