Courtesy of St. Charles County Jail
Booking photo of Venkatesh R. Sataro, who is being held without bail in the St. Charles County Jail.
Three men accused of keeping a 20-year-old Indian college student in slavery-like conditions at a home in Defiance, Missouri, appeared in court today. Their lawyers faced the difficult task of arguing that their clients, who face 17 felonies — including human trafficking charges — should be let out of prison while awaiting their next court appearance.
The charges stem from last month when police responded to the home of Sravan Peenomecha and Nikhil Benmatsa on Rural Highway D after a neighbor requested a welfare check. Officers were initially denied entry to the home, but then the 20-year-old, whose name has not been released, ran outside “screaming and screaming for help,” according to St. Charles County District Attorney Joseph McCulloch. He suffered injuries to a large part of his body in addition to broken bones.
Penomica and Phenmtsa, as well as the alleged leader of the abuses, Venkatesh Sattaru, have been charged with a series of offences, including abuse through forced labour, armed criminal action and kidnapping.
McCulloch said Sataro was the “primary target” of the investigation, as was the 20-year-old’s cousin. He was allegedly calling Bhinomica and Phenamtsa and ordering them to beat up the 20-year-old via live stream. If the victim does not scream loudly enough, Sataru will tell them to hit him harder. “I don’t know how much more animalistic behavior you can get than that,” McCulloch said at a news conference after the three men were charged.
Courtesy of St. Charles County Jail
Booking photo of Nikhil Panamasta, who is being held without bail at the St. Charles County Jail.
However, all of the defense attorneys pushed back forcefully against what one of them, William Goldstein, called “the narrative that was put out in the news.”
They insisted that no human trafficking occurred.
Goldstein, who represents Sataro, cited multiple instances during the alleged trafficking period when the 20-year-old was stopped by police or got into a car accident while driving alone. Goldstein questioned how an alleged victim of human trafficking was able to drive alone in his alleged captor’s car under his alleged captor’s insurance. In one case, when police tried to stop the 20-year-old, he called Sataro for help, Goldstein said.
In the latter half of November, the 20-year-old victim was also seen at the DMV renewing his driver’s license and shopping at the Bass Pro Shop. Goldstein presented to the court photos of Sataro with the 20-year-old at event venues in St. Charles as well as at carnivals, dinners and out shopping.
Courtesy William Goldstein
This photo shared by defense attorney William Goldstein shows Venkatesh Sattaru, second from right, standing next to the 20-year-old alleged victim in the case (wearing a red and blue button-down) and four other individuals.
Goldstein theorized that human trafficking was “a story that this young man was trying to sell to the news” as a way to obtain citizenship.
Regarding the 20-year-old’s obvious serious injuries, Goldstein admitted: “We don’t deny that some discipline occurred.” He added that Sattaro had “some tendencies,” but that was a completely separate case from human trafficking. “That’s not the line [20-year-old] “Everyone wants to believe he is a human slave, a victim of human trafficking,” Goldstein said.
However, St. Charles County Prosecutor Lawrence Crum said the photos showing apparent happy times between Sattaro and the victim were a scam calculated to make Sattaro look like a “good guy.”
“Who takes 75 pictures of a man over a period of time that is not your child?” Asked.
Crum had photos and videos of his own to show Judge Jeffrey Sandkurk — photos of the bruised and beaten victim.
Courtesy of St. Charles County Jail
Booking photo of Sravan Penumetcha, currently in the St. Charles County Jail.
At one point in the hearing, the attorneys and Sandkurk went into the judge’s chambers to watch a video that allegedly showed the 20-year-old being beaten with a crowbar in a restaurant building. Elsewhere during the hearing, Goldstein stated that Sattaro was in the process of opening two restaurants when he was arrested. He previously managed Awesome BBQ Indian Wish Grill in Chesterfield.
Although the 20-year-old had a car, he was still under Sataro’s complete control and the car could only be used to run errands for him, Crum said. If the 20-year-old was late in returning, he would be beaten. He described the arguments made by Goldstein and the other two attorneys as examples of “gaslighting.”
The 20-year-old victim was asked if he wanted to be present at today’s hearing, and Croom said the young man replied: “I think it’s better for me to kill myself than to see ‘their faces or get out of prison.'”
Crum added that shortly before police responded to the home in Defiance for a welfare check, the 20-year-old and the three men now accused of holding him captive were all outside the restaurant together when the diner in question secretly passed the 20-year-old message saying: “Did “You’re okay. Call me if you’re not.”
Lawyers for the three men said they were willing to surrender their passports and remain under GPS monitoring if they were allowed out on bail. Sandkurk said he would issue his ruling on bond at a later date.
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In Saint Louis, a shocking case has emerged involving men accused of enslaving an Indian college student. The victim was allegedly forced to clean the men’s house without pay and was subjected to physical and emotional abuse. Now, the accused men are seeking to be released from prison as they await trial, sparking outrage and raising questions about the treatment of victims of modern-day slavery. The case has captured the attention of the public and shed light on the prevalence of human trafficking in our communities.