Neighbour rescues trafficked girl

A 14 year old Guatemalan girl who had been sold by her parents at the age of 12 and trafficked into the US is now being cared for by the authorities because of the awareness of a neighbour. The neighbour had recently attended an anti-trafficking seminar and noticed signs of abuse and servitude so she contacted the FBI. The girl, whose first language is Quiche spoke no English, only a little Spanish. She was imprisoned in a Florida home, forced to work as a maid, was raped, abused and had a still born baby when she was punched in the stomach. Amazingly the police were alerted to her plight in 2003, but concluded that there was not enough information to make a case. It is not known if they interviewed the girl in her own language. The extent of the abuse became apparent when a neighbour took her in after she became pregnant a second time and went to hospital. The Cape Coral police will investigate why more was not done sooner, but were unwilling to comment as the case was still on going.