'Their faces were like children,' former Agriprocessors worker says

A woman who used to work in the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant as a teenager told jurors it was obvious that other youths were working at the plant in 2007 and 2008.

“Their faces were like children. you could see that,” said Yukary Hernandez Gonzales, 20, who was hired by the Postville plant when she was 15 and then rehired at age 17.

Her testimony came through a Spanish language translator.

Hernandez returned to the stand today Friday as the trial for Sholom Rubashkin resumed in Black Hawk County District Court.

Rubashkin, a former Agriprocessors executive, is being tried on 83 counts of misdemeanor child labor violations. He is also awaiting sentencing on fraud charges in federal court.

Hernandez, a Mexican native, said she saw others youths from her school at the plant. She also told jurors it would be obvious to others that minors were at the plant.

The defense questioned Hernandez about earlier statements she gave to investigators where she said it wasn't obvious. Those statements also said she had never been injured on the job, which contradicted her testimony on Thursday where she recounted how the sleeve of her frock became caught in a conveyor belt.

When pressed by the defense, she said she didn't remember giving that statement. She had been interviewed a number of times.

Hernandez, who was 18 by the time of the May 2008 immigration raid at the plant, had been sentenced to prison on federal false document charges.

A second witness on the stand Friday morning, Selvin Godinez of Guatemala, had also served time - five months - on federal charges.

He started at Agriprocessors in November 2006 at the age of 16 using a forged resident alien card with a date of birth that made him over 18.

He quit in January 2008 because they wouldn't give him a week of vacation. He returned to work in February 2008 after he turned 18, but he was told he had to give a different resident alien card to start.

He said he got another forged card, but this time it had his real date of birth.

Testimony continues this afternoon.

-- Jeff Reinitz, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier