OGDEN, UT. (CNN) – A traveling carnival owner is charged with human trafficking in Utah.
The Arizona man was arrested for allegedly holding his workers hostage and forcing them to live in appalling conditions.
Working at Midway West Amusements was anything but fun for more than 20 Mexican national employees, according to state investigators.
“It was disgusting, it was disturbing, and it was horrible to see people being treated like that,” said Brendan Call, the Utah Attorney General’s Secure Task Force.
The attorney general’s office accused 31-year-old Jordan Jensen of hiring workers in Mexico and bringing them legally to the United States on temporary work visas.
While in Utah, Jensen is accused of illegally taking their passports and forcing them to work more than 70 hours a week non-stop for food or water for just $ 400.
On Tuesday, three men escaped from the carnival grounds at Newgate Mall in Ogden, reporting to investigators from Utah and Mexico.
“This is unique in that we have had victims willing to be victims and understand that they are victims,” Call said. “Which is really important because these workers often think that it is. They don’t know that they have rights and should be treated with humanity.”
The men told investigators that they were crammed into a trailer and living in dire conditions with no water, electricity or air conditioning.
Employees were not allowed to leave the country and threatened to be sent back to Mexico without payment.
“After the raid, we were able to provide local victim services,” said Andrea Sherman, director of the human trafficking program for the Asian Association of Utah. “We got food. We’ve helped people get toiletries, travel to save places in Utah and the US. “
A manager named Dale said Midway West Amusements was not involved in human trafficking and they withheld passports so they could make copies. Victim attorneys said this was a classic case of human trafficking in Utah.
“Often they come to the United States legally on the pretext of work and then their human rights are violated once they get here,” Sherman said.
The investigators assume that more victims will report in the coming days.
Meanwhile, Mardi Gras is slated to go to Idaho this weekend.
Officials have requested an arrest warrant for Jensen as he often travels with the entertainment company.
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