GUATEMALA, May 24, 2010 – After moments of suspense, a breath of relief was exhaled as the judgment was read aloud sentencing Cristofer's* perpetrator to sixteen years in prison.

"I am so happy," said Cristofer's mother, as she was told the outcome of the trial. "My son will be an adult by the time [the perpetrator] is released from prison."

CHENNAI, INDIA – On May 18, 2010, repeat offender Kandasamy Mudalair received a sentence of five years imprisonment for holding several families in forced labor at his rice mill in rural India. Kandasamy, the wealthy owner of the Powerhouse Rice Mill, his son and the facility accountant were each charged with the criminal offenses of forced labor and slavery under India’s Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976 and the Indian Penal Code. Kandasamy’s sentence is the most significant to date in IJM’s forced labor casework in the region, one of the first convictions on slavery charges since the 19th century, and one of the most significant sentences on record for forced labor offenses in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

MUMBAI – Last month, Manali* was trafficked into forced prostitution in a well-known red light area of Mumbai. But, on the very day she was brought to the Bori Chawl brothel, IJM and local police conducted an operation there, freeing her from a terrible future of forced prostitution, as well as securing the rescue of three more young women and the arrest of both the brothel owner and brothel keeper.

Ten-year sentences handed down for trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors in IJM-assisted case

KOLKATA, INDIA – On 3 May, 2010, two men and one woman from Kolkata were sentenced to 10 years in prison for the trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of three minor girls. Over the course of one year, the victims had been forced to provide sexual services for the commercial gain of their captors. The perpetrators were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on February 16, 2007, while attempting to sell three minor girls for the purpose of sex. International Justice Mission (IJM), a human rights agency, assisted CID throughout the case, including in locating the three victims and providing vital evidence on the basis of which the three victims were rescued and the perpetrators arrested.