Prosecutor: Victims of suburban sex trafficking ring lived in fear

As authorities continue to investigate a suburban sex trafficking ring, details emerge about the women who were victimized.

Investigators found one of the women told her traffickers she wanted to quit. Her traffickers told her she had to finish out the week.

But she never did.

Police raided six Chicago-area brothels Wednesday, rescuing seven women from their traffickers, said Kane County First Assistant State's Attorney Christine Bayer.

The women, Bayer said, lived in fear as their traffickers exerted control over their lives. The women were moved weekly between six residences in St. Charles, Elgin, South Elgin, Hanover Park, Palatine and Chicago where they lived and worked. Each residence served as a brothel and was equipped with a Ring doorbell and interior cameras to keep tabs on the women, Bayer said.

Traffickers exercised financial control over the women and, in at least one case, withheld food from one of the victims for two days. Traffickers also threatened physical harm to one of the victims and her family, Bayer said Friday.

"This is the degradation of humans," Bayer said of human trafficking. "They are not seen as people ... they are looked at as a commodity."

Five people are charged with trafficking the women. The arrests stemmed from an investigation that began in St. Charles.

Hector Briseno, 54, and Martha Hurtado-Hernandez, 57, both of the 4700 block of South Wood Street in Chicago; Rigoberto Parra, 46, of the 1600 block of North Marywood Avenue in Aurora; and brothers Christian Hurtado, 27, and Daniel Hurtado, of the 500 block of Holly Street in Elgin, remain in the Kane County jail on $5 million bail each.

All are charged with involuntary servitude, a Class X felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Each also is charged with one count of trafficking in persons for labor, 10 counts of involuntary servitude and four counts of promoting prostitution for profit, all Class 1 and Class 4 felonies.

Though she could not disclose how they were procured, Bayer said the women, from South American countries, were flown into the United States. Hurtado-Hernandez, Briseno, and Parra transported the women, picking them up from the airport and delivering them to one of the six brothels.

"They were brought into the United States for the sole purposes of being victimized and exploited," St. Charles Police Chief James Keegan said during a news conference Thursday.

Bayer said authorities believe the investigation will lead to other trafficking operations locally and across the U.S. She added the probe into the local brothels continues, and she anticipates additional charges.

Bayer and others credited police for targeting the traffickers, rather than the women, in their investigation.

"It's really great that police departments are starting to look at the women as victims," she said.

She added some of the women have sought assistance in securing emergency housing and other help. Others declined assistance. Bayer said the latter is not an uncommon response and authorities will continue to do what they can to let human trafficking victims know that help is available.

She encouraged residents to be aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious activity to the police.