California IN BRIEF : SAN DIEGO : Family Accused of Imprisoning Maid

A 19-year-old Mexican woman testified in Municipal Court that she was beaten, deprived of medical care and held as a virtual captive for more than 15 months in the home of a San Diego family who recruited her as a maid. Juana HernaEndez Ortiz, a native of the southern state of Oaxaca, said she tried to escape several times, but her employers--who are also Mexican citizens--threatened to use their influence in Mexico to send her parents to jail. Acting on a tip, police raided the household where she worked and arrested three family members, Esperanza Vargas, 53, her daughter, Claudia Vargas, 24, and son, Raul Vargas, 22. The three were accused of “involuntary servitude,” or slavery. They entered pleas of not guilty.