Nation - Texas Texan and girlfriend get 9 years for baby trafficking

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) -- A Texas man and his girlfriend were sentenced to nine years in prison for recruiting Mexican women to give birth in the U.S. and sell their babies to couples there, a judge said Wednesday. Amado Torres, of Harlingen, Texas, and Maria Isabel Hernandez, of Mexico, paid women up to $3,000 for their newborns, Tamaulipas state Judge Jose Luis Bazan told The Associated Press. He handed down their sentences for child trafficking on Jan. 29. Bazan said the pregnant women were smuggled into the United States to give birth so their babies would be U.S. citizens, making them more easily adoptable. Torres, 65, denies the charges and will appeal, said Eduardo Cabanas, his defense lawyer. Three women who testified that they sold their babies to the pair out of economic desperation were sentenced to six years in prison. They said Hernandez, 26, helped look after them during their pregnancies in the United States. Published: Fri, Feb 12, 2010

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