QUOTE
Authorities Allege Teenage Girls Forced To Swim With Piranhas And Be Covered By Snakes
Wednesday March 26, 2008
CityNews.ca Staff
A terrible case of slavery and suffering has emerged from a place called Salerno province, south of Naples, Italy. Authorities there claim to have rescued two teenage sisters from Bulgaria who were being held as virtual captives with, of all things, a circus.
But there was nothing sexual or prurient about what the owners of the amusement allegedly made the pair, one 16, the other 19, do. Instead, they're accused of putting their lives on the line with each performance.
Investigators say one sister would be forced to swim with flesh-eating piranhas in a transparent tank to entertain customers. Reports indicate if she tried to escape, one of her captors would allegedly hold her head down in the water, preventing her from getting out.
Her younger sister didn't have it much better. She was allegedly locked in a container that had snakes tossed into it and was forced to display them - and some tarantulas - on her body before she'd be released. The teen was bitten by some of the serpents during these disturbing shows.
The duo was paid about $155 a week for their efforts, worked 15-20 hours a day and lived in a trailer used to transport animals.
Why didn't they flee? Police maintain the girls lived in fear of the owners and were so paralyzed by their fright they were unable to escape.
Three Italian residents who ran the Marino Circus are facing charges of holding a family in slavery and breaching conventions on international human rights. It appears they were finally turned in by the daughter of one of the accused.
It's not immediately clear how the girls met the circus owners, but they're now staying in a safe house and are out of danger.
Wednesday March 26, 2008
CityNews.ca Staff
A terrible case of slavery and suffering has emerged from a place called Salerno province, south of Naples, Italy. Authorities there claim to have rescued two teenage sisters from Bulgaria who were being held as virtual captives with, of all things, a circus.
But there was nothing sexual or prurient about what the owners of the amusement allegedly made the pair, one 16, the other 19, do. Instead, they're accused of putting their lives on the line with each performance.
Investigators say one sister would be forced to swim with flesh-eating piranhas in a transparent tank to entertain customers. Reports indicate if she tried to escape, one of her captors would allegedly hold her head down in the water, preventing her from getting out.
Her younger sister didn't have it much better. She was allegedly locked in a container that had snakes tossed into it and was forced to display them - and some tarantulas - on her body before she'd be released. The teen was bitten by some of the serpents during these disturbing shows.
The duo was paid about $155 a week for their efforts, worked 15-20 hours a day and lived in a trailer used to transport animals.
Why didn't they flee? Police maintain the girls lived in fear of the owners and were so paralyzed by their fright they were unable to escape.
Three Italian residents who ran the Marino Circus are facing charges of holding a family in slavery and breaching conventions on international human rights. It appears they were finally turned in by the daughter of one of the accused.
It's not immediately clear how the girls met the circus owners, but they're now staying in a safe house and are out of danger.
(Great new smilies BTW!)
