forbidden freedom Contact Sheet

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Isabela Pascual holds a family photo album as daughters Angelina Pascual, 9, left, and Maria Miguel, 5, look on in the entryway of her home in San Miguel Acatan, Guatemala. Francisco Pascual, the brother of Juana Pascual Francisco, second from right, is in jail in Lee County as he awaits trial in a possible human trafficking case in Cape Coral involving Isabela Pascual's now 15-year-old daughter.
Isabela Pascual holds a family photo album as daughters Angelina Pascual, 9, left, and Maria Miguel, 5, look on in the entryway of her home in San Miguel Acatan, Guatemala. Francisco Pascual, the brother of Juana Pascual Francisco, second from right, is in jail in Lee County as he awaits trial in a possible human trafficking case in Cape Coral involving Isabela Pascual's now 15-year-old daughter.
Isabela, age 7, plays outside the family's tienda in San Rafael La Indepencia, Guatemala. Her older sister came to the United States at age 12 to help support her family of eight by working in a Florida nursery with her father. A victim's advocate is eyeing the case as trafficking and the prospect her father gave or sold her to a man who raped her in Lake Worth. Her father, Tomas, says he didn't realize what was happening in the home.
Isabela, age 7, plays outside the family's tienda in San Rafael La Indepencia, Guatemala. Her older sister came to the United States at age 12 to help support her family of eight by working in a Florida nursery with her father. A victim's advocate is eyeing the case as trafficking and the prospect her father gave or sold her to a man who raped her in Lake Worth. Her father, Tomas, says he didn't realize what was happening in the home.
San Rafael La Indepencia, Guatemala, is nestled in the the province of Huehuetenango in the Western highlands of Guatemala. The village and the nearby San Miguel Acatan are the heart of two possible human trafficking cases of teenage girls brought to Florida. Both are now living in protective custody in Lee County.
San Rafael La Indepencia, Guatemala, is nestled in the the province of Huehuetenango in the Western highlands of Guatemala. The village and the nearby San Miguel Acatan are the heart of two possible human trafficking cases of teenage girls brought to Florida. Both are now living in protective custody in Lee County.
Residents clean up the streets of San Miguel Acatan following a daily street market in the town square. Seventy-five percent of the population in this country, many of them indigenous Mayans, live below the poverty line. Most in the area have relied on farming to make the small income they need to survive, but many now head for the United States in search of a better life.
Residents clean up the streets of San Miguel Acatan following a daily street market in the town square. Seventy-five percent of the population in this country, many of them indigenous Mayans, live below the poverty line. Most in the area have relied on farming to make the small income they need to survive, but many now head for the United States in search of a better life.
A man cuts apart the chassis of a truck as his children watch in San Migel Acatan. Many young Guatemalans are without guidance because grandparents and parents are working in the United States or killed in the Civil War according to experts.
A man cuts apart the chassis of a truck as his children watch in San Migel Acatan. Many young Guatemalans are without guidance because grandparents and parents are working in the United States or killed in the Civil War according to experts.
Mirian Cristina Andres, 12, carries a load of firewood to her home in San Miguel Acatan. Extreme poverty in the area means most children start working as soon as they are able, with boys shining shoes in the main square in San Miguel Acatan to help provide for their families, and girls working around the home and caring for younger siblings. Many children willingly head to the United States to be able to make more money to send back to their families.
Mirian Cristina Andres, 12, carries a load of firewood to her home in San Miguel Acatan. Extreme poverty in the area means most children start working as soon as they are able, with boys shining shoes in the main square in San Miguel Acatan to help provide for their families, and girls working around the home and caring for younger siblings. Many children willingly head to the United States to be able to make more money to send back to their families.
Mirian Christina Andres, 12, holds brother, Rudy Tomas, 1, as sister Rosa Tomas Andres, 18, does laundry in a sink outside the Pascual family's home. The girls live across the street from the family in San Miguel Acatan and share the sink with the Pascuals where they wash their laundry by hand. Children in Guatemala start work at an early age and most don't see a problem with children working at a young age in the United States, where they can make more money for their families.
Mirian Christina Andres, 12, holds brother, Rudy Tomas, 1, as sister Rosa Tomas Andres, 18, does laundry in a sink outside the Pascual family's home. The girls live across the street from the family in San Miguel Acatan and share the sink with the Pascuals where they wash their laundry by hand. Children in Guatemala start work at an early age and most don't see a problem with children working at a young age in the United States, where they can make more money for their families.
A young girl walks to the bathroom outside a primary school in Northwest Guatemala. The school is one of one built by Adopt-a-Village Guatemala. The group, which was based in Bonita Springs, Fla., has been building primary schools in rural Guatemala for the past 10 years, where only two of 10 students in rural areas -- where 60 percent of the school age population lives -- finish primary school according to UNICEF.
A young girl walks to the bathroom outside a primary school in Northwest Guatemala. The school is one of one built by Adopt-a-Village Guatemala. The group, which was based in Bonita Springs, Fla., has been building primary schools in rural Guatemala for the past 10 years, where only two of 10 students in rural areas -- where 60 percent of the school age population lives -- finish primary school according to UNICEF.
A group of boys study in the light of a window of a grade school in Northwest Guatemala. The school, built by the non-profit group Adopt-a-Village Guatemala, is aimed at helping educate indigenous Mayans. The leaders of Adopt-a-Village Guatemala hope by educating the residents and teaching them trades, the indigenous Mayans can make better lives for themselves.
A group of boys study in the light of a window of a grade school in Northwest Guatemala. The school, built by the non-profit group Adopt-a-Village Guatemala, is aimed at helping educate indigenous Mayans. The leaders of Adopt-a-Village Guatemala hope by educating the residents and teaching them trades, the indigenous Mayans can make better lives for themselves.
A Guatemalan woman prays inside the Catholic church on the main square in San Miguel Acatan. Indigenous residents started leaving Huehuetenango in the late 1970s and early 80s when the area was in the midst of a 36-year civil war that ended in 1996. There area is now mired in poverty with residents migrating out of the area where they hope to make a better life.
A Guatemalan woman prays inside the Catholic church on the main square in San Miguel Acatan. Indigenous residents started leaving Huehuetenango in the late 1970s and early 80s when the area was in the midst of a 36-year civil war that ended in 1996. There area is now mired in poverty with residents migrating out of the area where they hope to make a better life.
Cesar Henriquez, left, and Claudia Rivera, center, from Casa Alianza talk with a girl in a side room of the Cats Brothel in Guatemala City. Young Central American girls are often forced into prostitution by Coyotes after they start the trek to America. The brothel raids are a joint effort by the police, immigration department, and Casa Alianza.
Cesar Henriquez, left, and Claudia Rivera, center, from Casa Alianza talk with a girl in a side room of the Cats Brothel in Guatemala City. Young Central American girls are often forced into prostitution by Coyotes after they start the trek to America. The brothel raids are a joint effort by the police, immigration department, and Casa Alianza.
Edna Gonzalez, right, counsels a girl in the courtyard of the Casa Alianza shelter in Guatemala City. The child advocacy group gives a safe haven and help to underage prostitutes and street kids. Unfortunately, many of the girls who come to the shelter can't acclimate to the change of life and run away.
Edna Gonzalez, right, counsels a girl in the courtyard of the Casa Alianza shelter in Guatemala City. The child advocacy group gives a safe haven and help to underage prostitutes and street kids. Unfortunately, many of the girls who come to the shelter can't acclimate to the change of life and run away.
Residents in the Casa Alianza shelter in Guatemala City enjoy games with girls from Santa Teresita school, who spent the morning at the shelter. The Santa Teresita girls performed a show and spent the morning in the shelter playing games with the residents. Casa Alianza runs the shelter to give the underage girls a way out of life on the streets.
Residents in the Casa Alianza shelter in Guatemala City enjoy games with girls from Santa Teresita school, who spent the morning at the shelter. The Santa Teresita girls performed a show and spent the morning in the shelter playing games with the residents. Casa Alianza runs the shelter to give the underage girls a way out of life on the streets.
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