VTMBH Article: Body
A New York court bail for a Mexican immigrant accused of raping, sodomizing and prostituting two adolescents that he lured from his country with the promise of wealth.
Daniel Pérez appeared in Brooklyn Criminal Court, accused of bringing two young Mexican women on false pretexts to California and then to Brooklyn, where he forced them to become sexual slaves.
Perezs defense attorney, Martin Marchak, requested bail of Judge Betty Williams, who denied it as soon as the district attorney objected.
District Attorney Wilfred Cotto defended his objection, explaining that, the seriousness of the charges, including lesions on the neck and vaginal trauma in the young women necessitating treatment at a New York medical center.
We need time to investigate the truth of the allegations, said Marshak, who complained that the district attorney refuses to release the names of the witnesses, preventing him from communicating with them. Marshak called the measure interference.
Pérez allegedly beat the 17-and 19-year-old victims and kept them against their will in his apartment, in Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, from May 12th until last Monday, making them work in a brothel on the Lower East Side, the police reported.
The young Aztec womens suffering ended when they escaped their employer, and headed to the subway where they asked a Hispanic woman for help. She drove them to the authorities.
Of short stature, dressed like an adolescent and with bloodshot eyes, the 21-year-old Pérez was shouted out of the courtroom during his first appearance, as the numerous charges against him were read.
Orlando Rivera, communications associate for the Brooklyn district attorneys office, announced that the grand jury would determine the legitimacy for the charges.
[Editors note: According to Rivera, a grand jury indicted Perez on June 6, on charges of kidnapping, promoting prostitution and related charges. A court date for Perezs arraignment is not yet scheduled.]
Pérezs neighbors said he spent very little time in the apartment and they did not know about his illegal activities.
If the accusations are true, he should be punished with all the weight of the law, said one resident, who did not want to identify herself. The majority of his neighbors did not know of the case.
Many immigrants are ultimately confronted with this problem and they dont file charges for fear of being deported, said Esperanza Chacón of the Asociacion Tepeyac, who explained that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has a special visa status to protect the women who come under false pretenses.
This everyone should know, she said. They should not fear reporting the case to the authorities and community organizations.
Daniel Pérez appeared in Brooklyn Criminal Court, accused of bringing two young Mexican women on false pretexts to California and then to Brooklyn, where he forced them to become sexual slaves.
Perezs defense attorney, Martin Marchak, requested bail of Judge Betty Williams, who denied it as soon as the district attorney objected.
District Attorney Wilfred Cotto defended his objection, explaining that, the seriousness of the charges, including lesions on the neck and vaginal trauma in the young women necessitating treatment at a New York medical center.
We need time to investigate the truth of the allegations, said Marshak, who complained that the district attorney refuses to release the names of the witnesses, preventing him from communicating with them. Marshak called the measure interference.
Pérez allegedly beat the 17-and 19-year-old victims and kept them against their will in his apartment, in Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, from May 12th until last Monday, making them work in a brothel on the Lower East Side, the police reported.
The young Aztec womens suffering ended when they escaped their employer, and headed to the subway where they asked a Hispanic woman for help. She drove them to the authorities.
Of short stature, dressed like an adolescent and with bloodshot eyes, the 21-year-old Pérez was shouted out of the courtroom during his first appearance, as the numerous charges against him were read.
Orlando Rivera, communications associate for the Brooklyn district attorneys office, announced that the grand jury would determine the legitimacy for the charges.
[Editors note: According to Rivera, a grand jury indicted Perez on June 6, on charges of kidnapping, promoting prostitution and related charges. A court date for Perezs arraignment is not yet scheduled.]
Pérezs neighbors said he spent very little time in the apartment and they did not know about his illegal activities.
If the accusations are true, he should be punished with all the weight of the law, said one resident, who did not want to identify herself. The majority of his neighbors did not know of the case.
Many immigrants are ultimately confronted with this problem and they dont file charges for fear of being deported, said Esperanza Chacón of the Asociacion Tepeyac, who explained that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has a special visa status to protect the women who come under false pretenses.
This everyone should know, she said. They should not fear reporting the case to the authorities and community organizations.