BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. -- A North Fort Myers man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in harboring a 13-year-old girl kept as a sex slave and housekeeper. U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington gave Fernando Pascual, 22, what she considered a lenient sentence Tuesday. As part of a plea deal, Pascual pleaded guilty in March to charges of sex trafficking and harboring an illegal immigrant for commercial gain. His sentence of 10 years was in exchange for the victim not having to testify because she was traumatized, Covington said.
"These are truly horrible crimes you have committed and they will not be tolerated in the United States," Covington said.
Pascual, his sister, Matilde Pascual Andres, and Andres' husband, Pascual Miguel Sebastian, were charged in May 2005 with harboring a young girl in a Cape Coral home. Prosecutors said the girl was bought in Guatemala and brought to Cape Coral, where she was raped, beaten and forced to work.
Matilde Pascual Andres also was sentenced Tuesday to 22 months in prison for her role. Pascual Miguel Sebastian was sentenced to 16 months in May on a similar charge.
"This is finally a chance ... to move forward," said Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Molloy.
