2 women sentenced to prison for keeping girl as slave

Edith, a young girl of Mixtec indigenous origin who was held captive and lived as a slave inside a luxurious apartment in Hacienda de Las Palmas, Interlomas, an affluent neighborhood in the outskirts of Mexico City, was able to have her captors sentenced to nine years in prison by a federal judge, according to the State of Mexico's Attorney General's office.

The young girl from Oaxaca was forced to work with no pay and wasn't allowed to leave the apartment.

In an interview with EL UNIVERSAL, Edith, accompanied by Rosy Orozco, an activist against human trafficking, said that the women forced her to sleep in a bathtub full of water on many occasions because they accused the girl of being crazy.

During the trial, the state prosecutor argued that the young girl worked extremely long hours, lived in deplorable conditions, was repeatedly beat and was held against her will.

Edith said she was finally able to escape the apartment after she asked the building's security guard for help.

The young girl also accused her captors of running a human trafficking ring, claiming that the women brought girls to the the country's capital from Oaxaca to work as forced domestic servents.

While on trial, Margarita and Tatiana, mother and daughter, were free on bail for almost one year and a half; however, they were finally sentenced to nine years behind bars and ordered to pay 41,100 pesos in damages.