Four people face multiple labor trafficking charges. The victims were migrant workers – most were underage.
Federal authorities say 10 Guatemalan men, eight of whom were underage, were forced to work in a Marion-area egg farm 10-12 hours a day, six to seven days a week.
According to the indictment, some of the underage workers, now 17 to 29 years old, were promised an education if they came to the U.S. Instead, the victims were held against their will and had their paychecks withheld.
U.S. Attorney for Ohio’s Northern District Steve Dettelbach said the victims lived in deplorable conditions.
“They were threatened. There’s allegations in the indictment about physical assault. And there’s allegations in the indictment about when one of these individuals dared to sort of stand up for themselves, and say, ‘Hey, I want my paycheck,’ they got smacked.”
Court records allege Aroldo Castillo-Serrano led a human trafficking organization and owned the trailers where the victims lived. The victims were contracted to work at Trillium Farms, one of Ohio’s largest egg plants, according to its website.
In a statement, Trillium Farms human resources director Chuck Renken said as soon as federal officials alerted them to the issue, the company worked with authorities to assist in the workers’ rescue.
Castillo-Serrano and two others, Ana Angelica Pedro Juan and Conrado Salgado Soto, are accused of recruiting and smuggling the Guatemalan nationals beginning in 2011.
The defendants face forced labor charges and well as a host of other charges. A fourth defendant, Pedro Duran, Jr., is charged with harboring an illegal alien.
Dettlebach said the investigation is on-going.