Authorities have arrested an Oceanside couple on suspicion of enslaving a 12-year-old Mexican girl who was lured to the U.S. with the promise of a better life.
City News Service says Inez Martinez Garcia and Marcial Garcia Hernandez were arrested Thursday on suspicion of sexual assault of a child. They're in federal detention. It's unknown whether they've got an attorney.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department says the arrest followed a 2 ½-year cold case investigation.
The girl, who's now an adult, told investigators that she was beaten, forced to do housework, care for the couple's three children, have sex with the husband and later was forced into prostitution.
She eventually was placed in protective custody and returned to Mexico. The case was reopened when she returned to the U.S.
