Page 2 - Michael Erenhoff News Today

Hes a victim of his father. he didnt have a father who took him, you know, and taught him how to throw a baseball or was involved in his life. his fathers a criminal. he taught him how to be a criminal. >> while alex receives 14 years for the crime, trafficker michael erenhoff received a reduced sentence of seven years for testifying against his former partner. katya says neither sentence is long enough. >> i feel that when -- that she told judge that they will sit for that period of amount of t...

She says the girls knew that maksimenko had recently firebombed the car of a girls sister who tried to help her escape. >> alex and michael told her if you try to leave, well kill your family back in ukraine. these are women who were taken from everything they knew, thought they were going to something completely different, thought they were going to be waitresses in virginia beach for the summer and go back to university in ukraine. so if these men could do that to them, why couldnt they kill? ...

Rather than take his chances with a jury, he pled guilty to trafficking and was convicted of rape. the owners of the strip clubs were not charged with trafficking. michael rataj says despite his clients treatment of the girls, alex maksimenko is also a victim. >> i think in some ways, in sort of a perverse way, alex is a victim. hes a victim of his upbringing. hes a victim of his father. he didnt have a father who took him, you know, and taught him how to throw a baseball or was involved in his ...

They spent all our money for their well-being. >> there was no armed guard outside of their door, okay? there was -- maksimenko didnt sit inside the bar, you know, the entire 12 hours and -- with a gun in his pocket. >> michael rataj, maksimenkos attorney, argues the girls could have left any time. >> if you make any false moves or try to run out of here, im going to kill you, there was none of that. >> bridget carr, katyas attorney, scoffs at that notion. she says the girls knew that maksimenko...

For almost a year, 20-year-old katya, a university student from ukraine, was forced to work strip clubs in detroit by two men she thought were taking her to a waitressing job in america. alex maksimenko and michael erenhoff imprisoned her and 15 other women in separate apartments around detroit. >> we couldnt keep any money in our apartment because the guys has keys that have -- i believe they would listen to us in the apartment and we could not hide nothing. if we try to save at least a dollar,...

It puts more fear into the girls because somehow these men know things that they werent privy to. >> the federal case against maksimenko was a slam-dunk. and his lawyer knew it. rather than take his chances with a jury, he pled guilty to trafficking and was convicted of rape. the owners of the strip clubs were not charged with trafficking. michael rataj says despite his clients treatment of the girls, alex maksimenko is also a victim. >> i think in some ways, in sort of a perverse way, alex is a...

For the crime, trafficker michael erenhoff received a reduced sentence of seven years for testifying against his former partner. katya says neither sentence is long enough. >> i feel that when -- that she told judge that they will sit for that period of amount of time, i feel it wasnt enough for them. what they did to us, it was terrible. >> even today, with both men behind bars, katya lives in fear. her mother still lives in ukraine and the old rules still apply. >> alexs father, he was in ukra...

Bought for $300, $400, $500. >> besides being katyas attorney, bridgette carr represents other victims of trafficking. >> once i started looking into the issue and realizing that i wanted to be an advocate for victims of human trafficking, it seemed like i couldnt turn around without trafficking hitting me in the face. >> almost every girl who i knew was sexually abused, raped. it wasnt in front of me but it was in another room where i could hear, i could actually see after the girl was talking ...

>> the federal case against maksimenko was a slam-dunk. and his lawyer knew it. rather than take his chances with a jury, he pled guilty to trafficking and was convicted of rape. the owners of the strip clubs were not charged with trafficking. michael rataj says despite his clients treatment of the girls, alex maksimenko is also a victim. >> i think in some ways, in sort of a perverse way, alex is a victim. hes a victim of his upbringing. hes a victim of his father. he didnt have a father who to...

For almost a year, 20-year-old katya, a university student from ukraine, was forced to work strip clubs in detroit by two men she thought were taking her to a waitressing job in america. alex maksimenko and michael erenhoff imprisoned her and 15 other women in separate apartments around detroit. >> we couldnt keep any money in our apartment because the guys has keys that have -- i believe they would listen to us in the apartment and we could not hide nothing. if we try to save at least a dollar,...