Dunkirk man sentenced after kidnapping, allegedly raping 16-year-old migrant

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Dunkirk man was sentenced to 30 years in prison after labor trafficking Guatemalan migrants and allegedly kidnapping and raping a teenage girl, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

It is alleged that Augusto Mateo Francisco, a 34-year-old legal Dunkirk resident and Guatemala native, repeatedly raped a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant who came to the U.S. with her mother. He held her in a trailer in Ripley, N.Y. for two weeks and threated to harm her family, officials said.

Her and her mother fled to Georgia, but Francisco allegedly followed and held the victim for several more days.

Francisco also brought migrants into Dunkirk and provided them with housing and work at area farms. Officials said he charged them for housing and rides to work, and would take a cut of their wages.

Francisco threatened two of the workers with harm or deportation if they did not pay him back or stopped working for him.

He was sentenced to 30 years in prison and lifetime supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution and register as a sex offender.

“Francisco weaponized his victims’ immigration status through threats, coercion, and violence, including repeated rapes and multiple kidnappings,” said HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan. “This significant sentence underscores the seriousness of his heinous actions and demonstrates HSI’s unyielding commitment … to holding such predators accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”