Sandy Springs- Sex slaves in Sandy Springs -- that's the allegation from the U.S. Attorney's office, which says women from Brazil were brought to Metro Atlanta and forced into prostitution.
Three people, all women, are in jail. The girls they allegedly put into sexual servitude are in protective custody.
The cruelest irony of the entire affair is that the girls paid thousands of dollars to be smuggled into the United States so they could find good jobs.
Thursday evening, the only sign of the Brazilian brothel that reportedly operated out of a Sandy Springs apartment is the eviction notice on the door, and the name of Vivian Chagas -- one of the three alleged madams who held sex slaves hostage since last winter.
"They conspired to smuggle at least four young Brazilian women into the United States, and then, once they were in the country, they were induced to participate in prostitution in the Sandy Springs area.
Only two of the three suspects were in federal court on Thursday evening, 29-year-old Lucilene Felipe dos Santos, and 55-year-old Jurani Felipe Pinto. Both women pleaded not guilty to the charge of being sex traders.
"I'm shocked," neighbor Jennifer Perry said. "They were neighbors. This is a quiet apartment community. Nothing goes on here, so it's pretty unsettling, I guess."
Residents there say they had no idea a brothel was being run out of the basement apartment, and worse yet, that the girls were sex slaves.
"I just saw them walking through occasionally once in a while, just passing through, nothing really unusual," Perry said. "Typical teenage girls, shoulder-length brown hair, pretty nothing spectacular. Average girls."
Prosecutors suspect that the prostitution ring is much larger, and that the number of victims could be much higher.
"And there's reason to believe that there are other victims and other schemes similar schemes involving other participants in the Atlanta area," said Nahmias.
The women were held hostage with blackmail. Naked pictures were taken of them with the threat of being sent home to their families, who would be told they were prostitutes.
The two women in court Thursday night, and will be back in court on Tuesday for a bond hearing.
