A man accused of smuggling women into the United States
and forcing them into prostitution will spend the next 20 years in prison for it.

Carlos Monsalve was sentenced in Tallahassee's federal court Wednesday for harboring and transporting illegal aliens as well as importing illegal aliens for the purpose of prostitution.

His plot started to come unraveled when two of the women fled a house in Killearn and called police. Authorities arrested Jorge Melchor and indicted him for human trafficking in 2007. A subsequent federal investigation led them to others involved in the ring, including Monsalve.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says Monsalve was part of a conspiracy to lure women from Central and South America to the United States with the promise of jobs.

When they arrived in Tallahassee, he would force them into prostitution to pay off their 15 -20,000 dollar smuggling fees.

Prosecutors say the women were forced to sleep with as many as two dozen men a night.