MIAMI — A Hungarian man has been convicted in South Florida for his role in a running what investigators called a gay sex slave prostitution ring.
Andras Janos Vass, 25, faces a minimum of 21 years behind bars and a maximum of 155 years in prison after a Miami jury convicted him late Thursday of human trafficking and racketeering, reports The Miami Herald.
According to prosecutors, three victims — all in the early 20s — were lured to the United States in 2012 with the promise of quick, easy and legal cash. Vass met two of the victims through the website called GayRomeo.com, and a third victim through Facebook.
The victims “believed they would only be in New York for a few months to make tens of thousands of dollars before returning to their homeland and their families,” according to charging documents.
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Testimony indicated that Vass and others brought three victims to New York in 2012 and later moved their operation to Miami.
Once in Miami, the victims were forced to engage in prostitution or perform sex acts in front of a webcam for 18-20 hours a day, prosecutors said.
The victims told investigators that the suspects “used various techniques to keep them enslaved, including isolating them from others, withholding their travel and identification documents, and using financial manipulation to keep them in constant debt.”
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Sentencing is set June 2 for the 25-year-old Vass.
Defendants Gabor Acs and Viktor Berki, a former policeman in Hungary, are still awaiting trial.