Officials in Green Lake County, Wisconsin said they have arrested six men suspected of being in the country illegally for sex trafficking a young girl who escaped from captivity last month.
The girl escaped from the home where she was being sex trafficked and called 911 on November 28, according to a press release from the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office. She was found on the side of the road and rescued by a deputy, said the release.
Police executed a search warrant on the home on November 28, which produced evidence “believed to be connected to the sexual assault of the juvenile” and resulted in the arrest of six suspects—all of whom are believed to be illegal immigrants from Guatemala.
The suspects are:
- Esler Hugo Rivera, 33
- Rolando Corado Gonzalez, 28
- Avelino Sarceno-Sarceno, 40
- Ember Rivera, 37
- Noe Bautista-Martinez, 28
- Evis Amabilio Garcia-Rivera, 31
All six men were arrested for second degree sexual assault, but have not yet been criminally charged, according to the press release. Amabilio Garcia-Rivera is suspected of trafficking the juvenile female within the residence among the suspects.
Officials said all of the suspects have made court appearances and are currently being held at the Green Lake County Correctional Facility on cash bonds ranging from $20,000 to $50,000. The incident remains under investigation by the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Division of Criminal Investigations of the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
State Rep. Marisabel Cabrera (D-Milwaukee) introduced a bill in September to make Wisconsin a sanctuary state, meaning state and local law enforcement officers would be limited in their ability to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement agencies. State Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee), a co-author of the bill, said the intention was to “send a message to both the undocumented population and the federal government that Wisconsin is accepting and welcoming to our undocumented neighbors.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
