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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A woman accused of smuggling illegal immigrants into the country for a profit has pleaded guilty.
In exchange for a guilty plea, all other counts against 35-year-old Martina Ernestina Gutierrez were dropped.
Court records show Gutierrez admitted to smuggling two young girls from Mexico for financial gain. She was originally charged in November with her husband, 49-year-old Armando Gutierrez-Valencia. Charges against him have NOT yet been resolved.
Court documents show the couple promised jobs and housing to at least three women, ages 14, 16 and 24. But once the women arrived in Utah, the couple forced them to find their own work.
If convicted, Gutierrez faces up to ten years in prison.
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Information from: The Deseret Morning News
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
