Dunkirk man pleads guilty to trafficking, kidnapping
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Dunkirk resident is facing a minimum of 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to trafficking and kidnapping charges on Monday, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office announced.
Augusto Mateo Francisco, 33, pleaded guilty to two counts of forced labor and one count of transportation of a minor.
According to the attorney’s office, Francisco, a legal permanent resident from Guatemala, helped Guatemalan migrants illegally enter the United States. Francisco would then provide housing and work at Dunkirk farms. Officials said Francisco would take a cut of the migrants’ earnings and threaten them if he did not receive the money they “owed” to him.
In March 2019, Francisco allegedly pursued a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant, who came to the U.S. with her mother, and repeatedly raped her.
In May 2020, Francisco abducted the 16-year-old and held her captive in a trailer in Ripley, N.Y. for two weeks before the victim was rescued by police, officials said. Following the rescue, the victim and her mother fled to Georgia, but they were followed by Francisco and brought back to New York, where she was again held captive before being rescued by police.
Francisco is scheduled to be sentenced on May 30. He faces a maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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Mark Ludwiczak joined the News 4 team in 2024. He is a veteran journalist with two decades of experience in Buffalo. You can follow him online at @marklud12.
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