Chesco man charged with trafficking 2 teen girls from Mexico, Guatemala to work at mushroom farm
Ramiro Caal Jolomna, 36, was charged with multiple counts of trafficking in individuals, involuntary servitude, and other offenses.
A 36-year-old man in Chester County was charged with human trafficking after he allegedly forced two teenage girls from Mexico and Guatemala to work at a mushroom farm for little or no pay, while threatening to have them punished or deported if they did not comply, state Attorney General Dave Sunday said Monday.
Ramiro Caal Jolomna, whose last known address was in New Garden Township, was charged with multiple counts of trafficking in individuals, involuntary servitude, and other offenses with bail set at $1 million, Sunday said in a news release.
Court records show Jolomna also was charged with one count of concealing the death of a child in the trafficking case. No other public information was available about why the charge was filed.
According to court records, Jolomna has been incarcerated since he was arrested in September 2024 on child pornography charges. Bail in that case, which is being prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office, was set at $750,000.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office did not respond to questions about the cases.
No attorney was listed for Jolomna in the trafficking case. The public defender representing Jolomna in the child pornography case could not be reached for comment.
In a statement, Sunday said the girls, ages 14 and 17, were charged “debts” for Jolomna bringing them to the United States.
The girls were allegedly kept out of school and forced to work long hours seven days a week.
The 14-year-old girl came from Mexico and was forced to work 16-hour shifts daily, and her paychecks were signed over to Jolumna and his wife, Sunday said.
The girl also was forced to perform domestic chores, such as cleaning Jolomna’s house, Sunday said.
The 17-year-old girl was brought to the United States as a sponsorship and subjected to similar conditions, Sunday said.
The older teen wanted to provide for her sick father and other family members back home in Guatemala, but Jolomna took the majority of her pay, Sunday said.
“This is a disturbing set of facts involving a man preying on vulnerable girls who wanted to make an honest living and help their families back home,” Sunday said in a statement.
“Labor trafficking, while not as often in the headlines, is cruel and dehumanizing behavior that forces victims into a routine of helplessness and silence,” Sunday said.