Aurora residents sent to prison for child labor trafficking

Two Aurora residents have been sentenced to 6½ years in prison by a federal judge in Chicago for child labor trafficking.

Santos Teodoro Ac-Salazar, 27, and Olga Choc Laj, 34, who are Guatemalan nationals, admitted they entered the United States unlawfully with two children, ages 10 and 15, who were not their own, according to a news release Friday from the U.S. Department of Justice

The two kept the children with them in Aurora and forced them to work as servants and babysitters, striking them for disobedience. They also forced the children, who were not enrolled in school, to work jobs in the Aurora area and took most of the children's wages.

Choc Laj was sentenced on Jan. 27, and Ac-Salazar was sentenced on April 25. They also were ordered to pay $98,364 in restitution to the children.

The Kane County state's attorney's office, the Aurora Police Department and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services aided in the investigation.