HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday and the Pennsylvania State Police announced charges against a Chester County man who forced two juvenile female immigrants to work on a mushroom farm with little compensation, while threatening to have them punished or deported if they strayed from him.
Ramiro Caal Jolomna is charged with felony counts of trafficking in individuals and involuntary servitude and related offenses.
The Office of Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Section, along with the Pennsylvania State Police, investigated and filed charges. Jolomna was arraigned and bail was set at $1 million.
According to the investigation, the girls, ages 14 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.
“This is a disturbing set of facts involving a man preying on vulnerable girls who wanted to make an honest living and help their families back home,” Attorney General Sunday said. “Labor trafficking, while not as often in the headlines, is cruel and dehumanizing behavior that forces victims into a routine of helplessness and silence.”
“This coordinated effort between the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General underscores our commitment to protecting victims, holding traffickers accountable, and ensuring the safety of communities across the Commonwealth,” Major Serell Ulrich, Director of the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, said. “This arrest reflects the continued commitment between both agencies to dismantle criminal networks, safeguarding victims and upholding the rule of law throughout the Commonwealth.”
The 14-year-old girl was brought to Pennsylvania from Mexico 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 will be prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Zachary Wynkoop from the Human Trafficking Section. Criminal charges, and any discussion thereof, are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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