Ah... lawyers.
(This article is actually pretty hysterical.)
The sentencing today of an illegal immigrant caught up in an Eastern Shore prostitution ring turned into a debate on immigration policy.
Javier Merino-Torres of Mexico was sentenced to 45 months in federal prison despite a plea for leniency from his attorney, who cited the employment and social needs fulfilled by his client and others like him.
“He works here because there is no work at home,” the attorney, David Bouchard of Chesapeake, told the judge.
“What I’m suggesting is that we have created a monster because our economy depends on these people,” Bouchard said.
He suggested that the judge deviate from sentencing guidelines so his client can return home to his family as soon as possible.
U.S. District Judge Walter D. Kelley Jr. said he is bound by the laws passed by Congress to sentence Merino-Torres to a mandatory two years in prison for aggravated identity theft and an additional 21 months for transporting prostitutes.
“Mr. Bouchard has made a very eloquent argument about our immigration system,” Kelley said.
“Unfortunately, as a judge, I can’t be involved in what proper policy should be. I have to apply the law.”
Merino-Torres was charged with six other men in a prostitution conspiracy based in rural Mappsville, Accomack County, on the Eastern Shore. The men brought women in from New York and New Jersey to work in a dilapidated house where customers paid $30 for 15-minute sessions.
Prosecutors said at least six women were involved at the Mappsville site and at other locations on the Eastern Shore and in Maryland. Court papers say that among the evidence discovered was a book containing ratings of the prostitutes, using descriptions such as “good,” “bad,” or “fat.”
Five of the six men have been arrested, convicted and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 21 to 55 months. A sixth suspect remains at large. All were in the country illegally.
Bouchard told the judge that his client had been in the country illegally for many years, working farm fields up and down the East Coast. He entered the country by purchasing a phony Social Security card for $100, Bouchard said.
He said Merino-Torres got involved with the prostitution ring to provide “a great benefit to the men who live away from their families.”
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