A landlord in Berkeley, California, Lakireddy Bali Reddy, was sentenced on 19 June to eight years in prison for trafficking girls into sexual servitude. In March he was made to pay US$2 million to four girls whom he brought from India to use as cheap labour and sexually abused.

Under the United States' Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which came into force in October last year, a new category of forced labour was created. It enables prosecution for 'sophisticated forms' of non-physical coercion used by traffickers against their victims. Under the Act, traffickers pay full restitution to victims as well as forfeit certain assets.

Lakireddy and four members of his family brought teenage girls from his home village, Velvadam in south India, for work and forced them into sexual servitude. In addition, they smuggled at least 25 labourers into the US to serve as a cheap workforce in his restaurants and other businesses.

The authorities were alerted to the offence when a girl living in one of his properties died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Lured by promises of good wages and fair working conditions, on arrival the realities of their situation became clear. Lakireddy's declaration on some visa forms that they would be paid $42,500 was never met; instead they worked for below the minimum wage and received no pay for overtime.

A US Government report published last year estimates 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the country each year.