San Diego
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Two 19-year-old Mexican men convicted of kidnaping undocumented migrant workers, shaving their heads, and dumping the workers, nude, on the street were sentenced Wednesday to life terms in state prison.
Both Fernando Ramirez and Juan Gutierrez Espinoza pleaded guilty last month to kidnaping for robbery in the Nov. 23 incident in Encanto.
San Diego Municipal Judge Charles Rogers also fined both men $500.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Elizabeth Porterfield said both defendants were involved in an alien smuggling operation when they severely clipped the hair of three men, had them stripped and ordered them out of a van.
A woman who was also smuggled into the U.S. reported that she had been raped by one of the men, Porterfield said.
The prosecutor said a motorist saw the three naked men and rescued them and the woman.
“Their first chance at a parole hearing will be in seven years,” Porterfield said.
Rape and robbery charges against both men were dismissed.
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