Dominican court’s landmark ruling sends Haitian children traffickers to jail

Santo Domingo.- A Santo Domingo province court sent the Haitians Willi Yan and Coldonie Pie to 10 years in prison, found guilty of child exploitation, trafficking with people, labor exploitation and of physical abuse against 12 minors.

The 2nd Collegiate Court’s landmark ruling says the children, of ages from 8 to 14, were brought from Haiti and were beaten and exploited for forced labor by the convicts.

In its closing arguments the prosecution said two people rescued the four children from the street and took them to the National Children Council’s for foster care, where they described how the two men had beaten and kept them in a crowded house located in the subdivision Los Alcarrizos, where agents rescued eight more during a raid.

According to the prosecution, a total of 12 children were brought to Dominican Republic to force them to beg in the streets, after which Yan and Pie took the money from them. The men would also beat the children, verbally and psychologically abused them and denied them food if they didn’t produce any money.