A Highland Park woman has been charged with human trafficking for exploiting four immigrants, including keeping food from them under lock and key, according to Lake County authorities.
Gladys Ibanez Olea, 34, of the 500 block of Onwentsia Avenue, was charged with eight counts of human trafficking involving four immigrants, prosecutors said.
Authorities said Olea arranged in July 2023 for the illegal immigration of a 19-year-old woman and her 2-year-old son, along with a 22-year-old woman and her brother, 15, and then took advantage of them.
Prosecutors said Olea promised housing, safety and jobs, but instead took possession of the immigrants’ money, identification and more. The adults were forced into jobs to pay off their “debt” to Olea, according to a news release. She created a fake ID for the 15-year-old boy so the teen could get a job, it said.
Olea forced the immigrants to give her the money they earned, prosecutors say. She also padlocked the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets in her home to control when and what the immigrants ate, police said.
She gave the toddler cold baths during the day to keep him up so he would sleep better at night, authorities said. Ola also told the group that their families would be killed in Mexico if they did not comply, the release said.
Highland Park police got a tip about the situation and brought in the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Group. Last week, police searched Olea’s residence. She was charged Tuesday with human trafficking and involuntary servitude.
“Labor and sex trafficking are one of the most detestable crimes in our community,” State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said in the release. “Our office is dedicated to finding, prosecuting, and incarcerating those who would use others for their own financial gain.”
