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France Tries 23 in Alleged Nigerian Sex Slave Ring

Lisa Bryant

   PARIS - Nearly two dozen people went on trial Wednesday in the French
   city of Lyon for what activists say is an all-too-common reality in
   Europe: allegations of forced prostitution involving migrant women.

   The 23 defendants face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of a
   slew of charges, ranging from money laundering to human slavery. They
   are suspected of running a sex-trafficking ring that turned Nigerian
   women hoping for better lives in Europe into sexual slaves.

   Those on trial include a Nigerian pastor, accused of being the ring
   leader, and a woman suspected of recruiting Nigerian women as
   prostitutes in Lyon and two other French cities. She is on the run and
   being tried in absentia.

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