Additional charges filed against Aurora couple accused of forced labor involving two children

[Judi Lynn]

By BEACON-NEWS STAFF
AURORA BEACON-NEWS |
DEC 29, 2020 AT 7:39 PM

Additional criminal charges have been filed against an Aurora couple who are accused of forcing two undocumented Guatemalan children to provide labor and services for the couple’s financial gain.

Santos Teodoro Ac-Salazar, 24, and Olga Choc Laj, 31, have been charged in federal court with conspiracy to conceal, harbor and shield from detection the two children, one who was 15 years old and the other approximately 10 years old when they entered the United States in 2019, according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

The indictment also charges the couple with individual harboring counts in connection with both children, a forced labor charge relating to the younger child and a forced labor charge that was previously filed earlier this year in connection with the older child, officials said.

Ac-Salazer and Choc Laj are currently in custody. Arraignments are scheduled for Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman in U.S. District Court in Chicago, according to officials.

More:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/ct-abn-aurora-couple-additional-charges-st-1230-20201229-276s5abnszh3xhioykgna2ftsy-story.html

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Earlier story:

Guatemalan couple kept two girls as slaves in Aurora home, feds say
Santos Teodoro Ac-Salazar and Olga Choc Laj are charged in federal court in Chicago with forced labor.

By Frank Main Oct 2, 2020, 4:56pm CDT

A couple from Guatemala illegally entered the United States last year with two girls they used as slaves in Aurora, federal officials say.

The older girl, now 17, worked as a roofer, in a factory and at a cleaning job, turning over all of her earnings to the couple, according to federal Department of Homeland Security officials.

Both girls also cleaned the couple’s home and took care of their baby, according to a federal criminal complaint that said the girls weren’t allowed to leave and that the younger one was abused.

The couple, Santos Teodoro Ac-Salazar and Olga Choc Laj, have been charged in U.S. District Court in Chicago with forced labor. They were arraigned Friday in a court teleconference with the assistance of a Spanish interpreter.

Police say Ac-Salazar admitted he struck the younger girl, now 11, with a belt and a cellphone charger cord, leaving bruises. A babysitter alerted the Aurora police, officials said.

More:
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/10/2/21498999/guatemalan-couple-kept-two-girls-slaves-aurora

[JoeOtterbein]

1. Evil

(tears)