Florida Man Sentenced in Federal Court for Unlawful Transport of an Illegal Alien From Abbotsford

Friday, September 15th, 2023 -- 1:01 PM

(Kevin Murphy, USA TODAY NETWORK - Wisconsin) A Florida man who paid to smuggle a family member out of Mexico to Florida and then forcibly took him from his Abbotsford worksite so he could repay the smuggling debt, was sentenced Thursday in federal court to 2 1/2 years in prison.

According to Kevin Murphy with USA TODAY NETWORK - Wisconsin, Gerardo Hernandez-Anselmo, 34, of Kissimmee, Florida, previously pleaded guilty to conspiring with Felipe Engracia-Gonzalez, also of Florida, to unlawful transport of an illegal alien.

Engracia-Gonzalez received a “time served” sentence Sept. 7 equal to the 18 months he spent in detention while his case proceeded through court. District Judge William Conley said Hernandez-Anselmo was the main actor in the conspiracy. Hernandez-Anselmo paid the $12,000 smuggling debt owed by the victim.

Between June and December 2021, Hernandez-Anselmo made the victim work up to 10 hours a day in Florida to begin to pay his debt, according to court records.

When the victim's family in the Wausau area heard about his mistreatment they brought him to Wisconsin in December 2021 where he worked for a meat products firm in Abbotsford.

Hernandez-Anselmo tracked the victim to Abbotsford in June 2022 and grabbed him after work aided by Engracia-Gonzalez.

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