HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that a Chester County man — in the country illegally — has pleaded guilty to multiple felonies for forcing two juvenile female immigrants to work on a mushroom farm with little compensation.
Ramiro Caal Jolomna, 37, threatened to have the girls punished or deported if they strayed from him or attempted to report to authorities.
On Thursday, Jolomna pleaded guilty in Chester County Court to two counts each of trafficking in individuals and involuntary servitude, one count of theft by extortion, and one count of receiving stolen property — all felonies.
Jolomna will be sentenced at a later date. He is also facing an immigration detainer.
“This conviction is a milestone in the fight to combat labor traffickers who devalue human beings,” Attorney General Sunday said. “Felony convictions in these cases are very difficult, and thanks to effective collaboration with the Pennsylvania State Police, we achieved one today. Labor trafficking, while not as often in the headlines, is cruel conduct that forces victims into a routine of helplessness and silence.”
The Office of Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Section, along with the Pennsylvania State Police, investigated and filed charges.
According to the investigation, the girls, ages 12 and 17, were charged “debts” for Jolomna having them brought into the country. The victims were kept out of school, and subjected to long work days and seven-day work weeks, and received very little compensation or none at all.
The 12-year-old girl was brought to Pennsylvania from Guatemala and forced to work 16-hour shifts, seven-day work weeks, only to have her paycheck signed over to Jolomna and his wife. The girl was also forced to perform domestic chores, such as cleaning Jolomna’s house.
Jolomna brought the 17-year-old girl into the country as a sponsorship and subjected her to similar conditions. The girl wanted to provide for her sick father and other family back home in Guatemala, but after Jolomna took the majority of her wages, she had very little money left.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Zachary Wynkoop from the Human Trafficking Section.
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