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Chuukese women lured to Guam for a better life, but forced into prostitution
An alleged prostitution ring uncovered by police earlier this year has been the focus of an ongoing federal investigation. A complaint filed in the District Court outlines the alleged scheme to bring Chuukese women to Guam where they were forced into prostitution. The owners and two workers of Blue House not only face local charges, but now federal charges as well.
Federal authorities believe a human trafficking scheme to bring women from Chuuk State between the ages of 18 and 22 to our island began in April of last year. The ladies were recruited by a woman who lives in the Federated States of Micronesia and her daughter, and promised legitimate jobs as waitresses or store clerks and received free airfare to the island. But when they arrived to Guam the nightmare for at least seven women began when they were picked up at the airport by in ha cha and taken to Blue House.
According to a federal complaint, upon arrival at the Upper Tumon establishment, the womens' passports were taken away by the owner, Song Ja Cha, who allegedly told them they were indebted to her because she paid their airfare. The women were then forced to work to pay off their debt by working as hostesses at the bar and eventually engaging in prostitution. The girls were also taken to a clinic where they received a shot that they later learned was birth control.
Federal agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement say the girls had both protected and unprotected sex in private rooms with male customers for $40 every day of the week. The girls told authorities they were forced to engage in sex with between 3-10 men each night; if they refused Song Cha would withhold meals and become verbally (or sometimes physically) abusive. The Cha's scheme was assisted with two of her trusted employees, Freda Eseun and Saknin Weria, who acted as the girls' supervisors, keeping a close watch over the girls' actions and monitoring their conversations with family and friends.
The women were forced to sleep in a group and share a makeshift bed within Blue House. A search warrant executed nearly a month ago revealed nearly $250,000 in cash had been stashed away in flower vases and clothing. Other items seized included ledgers with handwritten symbols and corresponding dollar values and travel itinerary receipts. According to the declaration of one federal agent, even after arrests and the search warrant, Song Cha allegedly contacted one of the girls and invited her to work for the club because she was going to open for business again.
But the bars on the windows and doors today are evident that law enforcement were able to put a stop to this illegal brothel...at least for now. Song and In Cha, Eseun and Weria all face charges of conspiracy, sex trafficking and foreign transportation for prostitution.
A joint investigation by the Guam Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues as authorities are identifying more and more women who have been identified as past employees of the brothel.
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