Sixty-four year old Estela Gonzalez, who was convicted of human trafficking on February 10, was spared a custodial sentence today by the trial judge, Justice Adolph Lucas. Instead of being in jail tonight, she has been ordered to pay just over $73,000 in fines and damages.
To break it down, Gonzalez was ordered to pay a fine of $30,000 and restitution amounting to $28,520 to the Department of Human Services. She was also ordered to pay $15,000 to the victim for her suffering at Temptation Bar and $588 for her loss of income. Justice Lucas stipulated that all monies must be paid forthwith and it is understood that the monies are being paid right now.
If Gonzalez defaults on payment of the $30,000 she will serve 1 year and if she defaults on the other payments it will be distress. Before he decided on the sentence Justice Lucas said he considered an assessment of the impact on the victim and the testimonies of Dr. Fernando Cuellar and Dr. Javier Novelo who said that Gonzalez is suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and urinary tract infection.
Justice said he also took into consideration a plea for mitigation from Senior Counsel Ellis Arnold and a response from the Director of Public Prosecutions, Cheryl Lyn Vidal.
As viewers will remember, the victim a 15 year-old minor testified that Gonzalez tricked her into sex slavery and forced her to have sex with patrons of the Temptation Bar on 3 separate instances.
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