U.S. v. Law

In prosecution on various sex trafficking/prostitution-related charges in which two Chinese-national women testified that defendant lured them to U.S. and forced them into committing sex acts with her spa customers, Dist. Ct. did not abuse its discretion in admitting testimony of two Department of Homeland Security agents that contained out-of-court statements made by others during agents' investigation. Said statements were not hearsay, since they were offered only to establish course of agents' investigation, rather than truth of matters asserted, and jury was otherwise admonished to consider said statements only for limited purpose of explaining investigation. Record also contained sufficient evidence to support jury's guilty verdict on charge that defendant trafficked said women to force their labor, where graphic nature of women's testimonies established that defendant confiscated their passports, threatened to deport them, withheld their wages and subjected them to constant monitoring. Record also supports defendant's 360-month term of incarceration that was based, in part, on imposition of enhancements under sections 2H4.1(b)(4)(B), 2G1.1(c)(1) and 3C1.1 of USSG, where defendant: (1) transported said women to U.S. for purposes of having them provide sex services in Indiana; (2) placed said women in fear of physical, financial and psychological harms; and (3) provided false testimony in affidavit that was read at trial.