A Ukrainian national living in San Diego has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for sex trafficking two women in 2014.
Sergeyi Bazar, 37, was found guilty after jury trial in November 2014 for two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and one count of coercion and enticement.
Both victims had been living in the United States illegally after their visas had expired.
The women testified they had responded to an advertisement Bazar had posted on VKontakte (VK), a Russian social media site. The advertisement was for work in the San Diego area as a masseuse.
One woman came from Miami, Florida and the other lived in San Diego.
When the women met Bazar, he told them they had to perform certain sex acts with customers.
The women said they were confined to their hotel rooms by Bazar. Eventually, one victim escaped from a hotel in Mission Valley and called 911.
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Detectives found a second victim after responding to a body-rub ad online.
Bazar was sentenced Tuesday in federal court.
If you believe you are a victim of sex trafficking or may have information about a potential trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Rescue Center (NHTRC) at 1-888-373-7888.
