Cardaci and Mossolini who is a police officer were charged of harbouring 4 Paraguayan women in Arana in La Plata to exploit them sexually, promoting and facilitating the prostitution, with the alleged collaboration of Melo as a secondary participant. To have an access it was necessary to ring a bell and wait to be served.
According to what has been reported by victims, the main accused was holding fifty per cent of what they earned. And they worked from Tuesday till Sunday. The victims were receiving a weekly salary, and had to pay for their food. One of the victims stated that though they were not obliged to have sex with whom they choose not to, it could lead to negative consequences. Also they shouted at them if they were slow in serving the customers. The statements of Cardaci himself showed that he knew well about the personal circumstances of the victims, and that he was aware of their precarious economic situation.
He said that he had travelled repeatedly to Paraguay to take the girls, he knew where they lived, and maintained a direct relationship with their families. The complaint that initiated the case took place in the UFASE on the 25 th of October , who made a preliminary report, and ordered intelligence investigations, which corroborated the complaint.
One of the victims testified by videoconference and for the three other victims, their statements were incorporated in the investigations in the presence of the technical assistant of Cardaci. In addition, the police station was one block away from the brothel, and everyone knew each other Arana. So if the girls had wanted to escape, they would have found them, and returned them to the brothel.
Regarding Melo, who was acquitted, the Prosecutor considered him as an employee of the place, who took salary from Cardaci. The report of the Office of Rescue Oficina de Rescate stated that the victims were in a vulnerable situation and that they were abused. Also, the difficulty for the victim to recognize her signature by showing her a document through the webcam. Testimonies of victims, testimonies of the clients, investigation statements, witnesses of the action, seized material.
