The ringleader of a forced labor case at an Ohio egg farm has been sentenced to 15 years in a federal prison and deportation.
Aroldo Castillo-Serrano plead guilty to charges stemming from a 2014 case where 10 people from Guatemala – eight of which were under the age of 18 – had been living at a trailer park with no heat and little to eat and were forced to work at a nearby Trillium Farms egg farm. The victims were also forced to surrender most of the money they earned while working at the farm as a means of payment for their ability to live in the United States. The families of the victims had been promised a good education for their children if they were allowed to leave Guatemala.
Once Castillo-Serrano serves his prison sentence, he will be deported to his native Guatemala, according to a Cleveland.com report.
Five other people have been sentenced for their involvement in the crime. He had originally been scheduled to be sentenced with co-defendants Conrado Salgado Soto and Pablo Duran Jr., but his sentencing was delayed. Soto was sentenced to more than four years in prison, while Duran was sentenced to about one year in prison.
Trillium Farms was unaware that the workers were being victimized and did not face any charges.
