Two men stand trial for child labor exploitation

Two men were brought to justice for exploiting the labor of three girls aged 13. Two accomplices of the men were announced wanted and will be investigated in a separate case, Info-Prim Neo has learned from the Prosecutor General’s Office. According to prosecutors, in June 2010 while in Bender town, the culprits recruited three minors for carrying out agricultural works in Harbovat, Anenii Noi. The victims left home without informing their parents, who had known nothing about their children for several weeks. Earlier, the men were accused of sexually abusing the three girls, but the Causeni court acquitted them. The girls were taken to the destination by taxi. The men paid 300 lei to the taxi driver and thus had a reason for blackmailing the girls. During about two weeks, the victims hoed and gathered vegetables in the fields and lived in the blocks of a summer camp situated near Harbovat. They tried to evade, but unsuccessfully. The girls were beaten and forced to work. However, they managed to phone their parents, who informed the police. In two days, the girls were released. The men are liable to 15 to 20 years behind bars or life imprisonment.