Ukrainian brothers sentenced to 20 years in janitorial slavery plot
Likening their misdeeds to war crimes, a federal judge sentenced two Ukrainian brothers to 20 years in prison Thursday for their roles in a modern-day slavery operation in Port Richmond, in which victims were beaten, kidnapped, raped, and terrorized to keep them working in janitorial jobs for little to no pay.
Likening their misdeeds to war crimes, a federal judge sentenced two Ukrainian brothers to 20 years in prison Thursday for their roles in a modern-day slavery operation in Port Richmond, in which victims were beaten, kidnapped, raped, and terrorized to keep them working in janitorial jobs for little to no pay.
Mykhaylo Botsvynyuk, 37, and Yaroslav Churuk, 48, said nothing and showed little reaction as District Judge Paul S. Diamond handed down their punishment, more than four years above the maximum term outlined by federal sentencing guidelines.
"In the 12 years I have been doing this job, these are perhaps the worst crimes I have ever seen," the judge said. "You sought to destroy these people by using them almost to death. The evidence in this case hearkens back to war crimes tribunals in demonstrating just how cruel and abhorrent people's conduct can be."
Three of the victims sat in the courtroom's front row, struggling to hide their deep emotional scars. Even a decade removed from their time spent working seven days a week, sleeping five or more to a room in a dirty Port Richmond apartment, and living in fear that any attempt at escape would be met with violent retribution, one rubbed his eyes red.
Another woman's weeping began the moment the judge took the bench.
"We didn't receive any money. We were half-starving. We were tired," said one former worker, whose name was withheld, as he testified through a Ukrainian interpreter. Of his captors, he added, "They didn't have anything human in them. They didn't have the law of God in them."
In addition to their prison terms, Botsvynyuk and Churuk were ordered to pay restitution into a $288,000 fund meant to pay their victims for their labor.
Both were convicted last year on racketeering conspiracy charges, three years after two more siblings, Omelyan and Stepan Botsvynyuk, were sentenced to a life term and 20 years, respectively. A fifth brother, Dmytro, is believed to be hiding in Ukraine, which has no extradition treaty with the United States.
The men took advantage of widespread poverty in their native country to recruit family friends and neighbors with promises of legal immigration to the U.S., a $500-a-month job, and free room and board.
"But as soon as they left, all of the promises that were made to them went out the window," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel A. Velez, who prosecuted the case with Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Morgan.
Mykhaylo Botsvynyuk, they said, arranged travel for more than 20 victims between 2000 and 2007, funneling them from Ukraine to Poland to the Netherlands to Germany and eventually to Mexico, where they were coached on how to cross the border by appearing to be Americans.
Once they were in the U.S., the brothers sent them to Philadelphia and put them to work cleaning homes, office buildings, and businesses such as Walmart, Target, and other big-box stores. Prosecutors have said the retail chains likely were unaware of the illegal status of their workers.
They worked long hours, were fed little, and felt helpless to escape. Most spoke no English, their travel documents had been taken away, and all were living in the country illegally.
Those who still mustered the courage to resist were beaten or their families were threatened back home. At least two female captives were raped.
In court Thursday, Velez described the fate of one of the trafficked workers who managed to flee to Chicago. Churuk and an associate tracked him to Illinois, where they abducted the man from the steps of a federal courthouse and dragged him back to Philadelphia to be beaten in front of the other captives.
One of the women, Velez said, was sexually assaulted by at least three men.
In 2001, Omelyan Botsvynyuk dragged the woman down a flight of stairs, pulling patches of hair from her head. He tied her hands with a clothesline, taped her mouth shut, and sodomized her while others looked on. If she tried to escape, she was told, her then-9-year-old daughter in Ukraine would be placed in a brothel to pay off her smuggling debts.
The woman struggled to put her experience into words as she testified anonymously through a Ukrainian interpreter Thursday.
"Our peace, our health was taken away from us - our young years and trust in people," she said. "They took away the most precious parts of my life."
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