After ten years of hearings, acquittals, challenges and retrials, a man was sentenced to 17 years in jail, while another two got by 15 years behind bars for trafficking the labor of three girls from Bender, who were forced to work at farms in Anenii Noi, IPN reports.

The Prosecutor General’s Office said the three girls were recruited to do field works in Hârbovăț village of Anenii Noi district in June 2010, when they were 13. They left without informing their parents. During several weeks, the families didn’t know the whereabouts of the gills.

The victims were accommodated at a house in Chircăiești village of Căușeni district. They were also abused sexually. The culprits were convicted for this offense in a separate criminal case.

During about two weeks, the girls were engaged in hoeing works and gathering of vegetables. On July 1, 2010, they tried to escape, but were caught, beaten and forced to work further. The minors managed to call their parents and these alerted the police. In two days, the victims were set free.

In 2013, the Anenii Noi Court acquitted the culprits and the appeals court rejected the prosecutor’s appeal, upholding the acquittal decision. In 2018, the Supreme Court of Justice accepted the prosecutor’s appeal and ordered a retrial. Recently, the Chisinau City Appeals Court passed a new judgment, sentencing the culprits. The decision is executory, but can be challenged in the Supreme Court of Justice.