Leonardo DiCaprio's girlfriend jailed for eight years on human trafficking charges
A Brazilian court has sentenced Instagram influencer Kat Torres to eight years in prison on charges of human trafficking and slavery.
To her followers, Kat, whose full name is Katiusia Torres Soares, was an inspiring success story of wealth, having risen from the Brazilian slums to riches. She was linked to Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio in 2013, when she was spotted with him at several parties, and they were rumoured to have dated for a few months when she was 24.
A BBC investigation has revealed that the 34-year-old Brazilian influencer exploited her followers with false promises of money and a better life, and lured them into sexually exploiting them while she was living illegally in Austin, Texas, in the United States.
Human Trafficking
According to media reports, Kat became a popular social media influencer, promoting herself as a “spiritual guru” to lure her victims in by using faith and religious beliefs.
The influencer, who showed off her luxurious life on her social media accounts, had managed to work as an actress and model in the United States, attracting millions of followers on Instagram, which gave her access to the luxurious life she enjoyed for a time in Los Angeles.
The investigation indicated that Kat was responsible for transporting many of her victims from Brazil to the United States to subject them to serious crimes, such as sexual exploitation, rape and psychological abuse.
Disappearance of Brazilian women
When two Brazilian women named Desiree Freitas, who was living in Germany, and Leticia Maia, disappeared in 2022, it led to an FBI search across the United States for them. The only evidence they had was that they were living with the “spiritual influencer.” One of them had been trafficked and held in conditions similar to slavery.
Kat convinced four other women to live in her home, but they withdrew.
Kat was convicted on June 28 in Rio de Janeiro on the charges against her after being arrested in Maine and deported to Brazil, where she was arrested in November 2022. She is currently residing in a women's prison in Bangu, west of Rio de Janeiro.
In a complaint filed by prosecutors from the Brazilian Federal Prosecutor's Office (MPF) against Kat Torres in the Federal Court, for the violations she committed against Desiree Freitas, it was noted that the influencer forced her victim into a humiliating routine between April and April 2022, and November of the same year.
Defrauding the victims
According to prosecutors, Kat "enticed and harbored the victim by fraud, in order to subject her to work in conditions similar to slavery and sexual exploitation."
The young woman was also forced to dance in a nightclub, working grueling shifts of more than 13 hours and without a weekly break.
Desiree also said in an interview with the press that Kat recruited other young women, including minors, with the promise of improving their quality of life.
In addition to Desiree’s case, the São Paulo Public Prosecutor’s Office has received a series of other similar complaints against Kat. These cases have been added to the investigation being conducted by the Federal Police in the Federal Court in Rio de Janeiro.
