Abilene's human trafficking trials delayed

Abilene sits around 500 miles from the Mexican border at McAllen where an alleged human-trafficking ring crossed into the United States in 2021. The owner of Fun Noodle Restaurant in Abilene allegedly paid for one of these individuals to work in his restaurant without pay and without the ability to leave.

The three co-defendants in this case have all recently had trial-resets at the Taylor County Courthouse and will be back for trials later this summer.

Modern-day slavery?

According to court documents, Gerardo Quijada-Soto allegedly smuggled Javier Rodriguez-Castro from Honduras to the United States, along with 12 other individuals on Jan. 8, 2021.

Rodriguez-Castro was first taken to a stash house in Houston before arriving at Fun Noodle in Abilene. When he entered the restaurant, he reportedly observed a large stack of cash change hands between Quijada-Soto and owner of Fun Noodle, Hai Zhuang.

From that moment on, Rodriguez-Castro was allegedly treated as a modern-day slave.

Zhuang kept his passport and forced him to work 10–12-hour days, without breaks, according to allegations in the complaint filed.

Rodriguez-Castro was later able to escape to Dallas where the Texas Attorney General's Office and the Human-Trafficking Division were "able to corroborate Javier's (Rodriguez-Castro) treatment during the investigation."

During his more than six months in captivity, Rodriguez-Castro alleges Zhuang beat him and he was forced to eat scraps from customers because he wasn't fed properly.

Consequences of human trafficking

Quijada-Soto, while not associated with Fun Noodle, stands accused of running the alleged trafficking ring. He faces two counts of felony human trafficking.

According to Assistant District Attorney Erin Stamey, each charge carries a possible sentence of 2-20 years in prison.

Hai Zhuang and Jiao Peilun of Fun Noodle have also been charged with one count of human trafficking each.

Zhuang, the previous owner of Fun Noodle, and Peilun, the former general manager, were free Monday from Taylor County Jail on a $200,000 bond each, according to online jail records.

Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court beyond a reasonable doubt.

Quijada-Soto was initially booked into the Taylor County Jail on Nov. 29, 2022, and was being held Monday on a bond of $200,000 and on an immigration hold from the U.S. Border Patrol, according to online jail records.

Gerardo-Soto is scheduled to be in court July 15 for trial, Zhuang on July 22 and Peilun on August 12. All three cases will take place in the 350th District Court.

Immigration status complications

Quijada-Soto won't be making bail anytime soon, according to Stamey.

Stamey said the Border Patrol's hold on Quijada-Soto is without bail. He is not an American citizen, so if he is convicted and serves a prison sentence, he could then be sent to Border Patrol.

Border Patrol would then make the determination whether or not to deport him back to his country of origin, according to Stamey. The other two defendants, Zhuang and Jiao, could face similar circumstances. Even though they have been in the U.S. legally, neither are American citizens.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene's human trafficking trials delayed