close
close
orange

Abilene’s human trafficking trials have been postponed

Vaseline

It’s the case that shocked Abilene. Alleged human trafficking in an Asian noodle restaurant? However, Abilene will have to wait for answers as all three associated investigations have been postponed.

Abilene is about 500 miles from the Mexican border near McAllen, where an alleged human trafficking ring entered the United States in 2021. The owner of Fun Noodle Restaurant in Abilene allegedly paid for one of these individuals to work at his restaurant without pay or compensation. the ability to leave.

The three co-defendants in this case all recently underwent a trial reset at the Taylor County Courthouse and will return for trial later this summer.

Modern slavery?

According to court documents, Gerardo Quijada-Soto allegedly smuggled Javier Rodriguez-Castro from Honduras to the United States on January 8, 2021, along with twelve other people.

Rodriguez-Castro was first taken to a warehouse in Houston before arriving at Fun Noodle in Abilene. When he entered the restaurant, he reportedly saw a large pile of money changers between Quijada-Soto and Fun Noodle’s owner, Hai Zhuang.

From then on, Rodriguez-Castro would be treated like a modern-day slave.

Zhuang kept his passport and forced him to work 10- to 12-hour days without breaks, according to allegations in the filed complaint.

Rodriguez-Castro was later able to escape to Dallas, where the Texas Attorney General’s Office and the Human Trafficking Division were “able to confirm the treatment of Javier (Rodriguez-Castro) during the investigation.”

During his more than six months of captivity, Rodriguez-Castro claims Zhuang beat him and was forced to eat customers’ leftovers because he was not properly fed.

Consequences of human trafficking

Quijada-Soto, although not associated with Fun Noodle, is accused of running the alleged human trafficking ring. He faces two counts of human trafficking.

Each charge carries a prison sentence of 2 to 20 years, according to Assistant District Attorney Erin Stamey.

Fun Noodle’s Hai Zhuang and Jiao Peilun have each also been charged with human trafficking.

Zhuang, Fun Noodle’s previous owner, and Peilun, its former general manager, were released from the Taylor County Jail on Monday on $200,000 bond each, according to online jail records.

Anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Quijada-Soto was initially booked into the Taylor County Jail on Nov. 29, 2022, and was being held Monday on a $200,000 bond and a U.S. Border Patrol immigration seizure, according to online jail records.

Gerardo-Soto will appear in court on July 15, Zhuang on July 22 and Peilun on August 12. All three cases will be heard in the 350th District Court.

Complications of Immigration Status

Quijada-Soto will not be released on bail anytime soon, according to Stamey.

Stamey said the Border Patrol at Quijada-Soto has no bail. He is not a U.S. citizen, so if he is convicted and serves a prison sentence, he could be sent to the Border Patrol.

According to Stamey, Border Patrol would then decide whether or not to deport him back to his country of origin. The other two defendants, Zhuang and Jiao, could face similar circumstances. Even though they have been in the US legally, neither of them are US citizens.

Related Posts