4 Men Arrested After Raid on Alleged Rosemead Brothel

Residents of a quiet Rosemead neighborhood said Thursday they were shocked to learn that a home was an alleged brothel where five illegal immigrants were held as sex slaves.

Four men were arrested and five women were taken into custody as protected witnesses Wednesday after sheriff’s vice detectives and Immigration and Naturalization Service investigators raided a two-bedroom home in the 8900 block of Emerson Place, authorities said.

Surveillance and a lengthy investigation determined that the home was a brothel run by four Asian males who enslaved five Latino females, said Deputy Jim Cannon.

“They were being held against their will, pending reimbursement to the males for bringing them into the United States,” Cannon said.

Some neighbors thought the home was an unofficial language school. Residents now recall seeing a lot of people entering the home late at night.

“It’s kind of a shock to think you’re living next to something like this and you don’t know,” said Dorothea Hausler, a neighbor. Trung Duc Le, 24, is being held on suspicion of harboring an illegal immigrant for the purpose of prostitution, Cannon said. Wayne Sloman, 24, was booked for violation of parole. Thai Minh Do, 20, and Dung Quoc Pham, 23, were booked on outstanding warrants.