The four entered their pleas in U.S. District Court to charges including
conspiracy to harbor aliens, money laundering and tax evasion. Prosecutors said
they led a $700,000 enterprise that transported Taiwanese, mainland Chinese and
Korean women to the United States to sell them for sex in 10 residential
brothels in San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and San Mateo.
Xiao Feng Shen, 35; Jia Jing Chu, 34; Yan Song, 42; and Ai-Ching Chang, 45,
pleaded guilty Wednesday. A fifth defendant, Ming Sun, 32, pleaded guilty Feb.
1.
"We want to make it perfectly clear that the degradation of women will not be
tolerated in our communities, and we will be proactive in our efforts to arrest
those who prey upon the plight of other human beings," San Jose Police Chief
Rob Davis said in a statement.
The investigation began in 2004 when one of the defendants tried to bribe a San
Mateo police officer to dismiss pimping and pandering charges against a
co-defendant.
After federal raids in October, authorities detained 31 women to determine if
they were sex trafficking victims forced to work against their will. Nineteen
were deported; 12 remained to testify against the ringleaders. Sentencing is
scheduled for May 3.
Associated Press
