A legal technicality prevented Berkeley real estate mogul Lakireddy Bali Reddy from pleading guilty on Monday, but his opponents say they feel vindicated that those behind the smuggling ring that allegedly brought teenage girls from India to the San Francisco Bay Area for sex and cheap labor are finally facing justice.

Reddy and members of his family are also accused of bringing immigrants to America using visas meant for technical workers.

In what US District Court Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong called a "package deal," Reddy, his brother Jayaprakash Lakireddy, and Lakireddy's wife Annapurna were to submit pre-trial guilty pleas on charges of bringing aliens into the United States illegally.

For employing six illegal immigrants in his company, Jay Construction, Jayaprakash could face up to 16 months in prison, while Annapurna could face up to 12 months for falsifying visa applications and affidavits for more than six illegal immigrants. Their sentencing date has been set for July 24.

Reddy faces immigrant smuggling charges too; he also has been charged with transportation of minors for sex. Because this second count is a felony, Judge Armstrong cautioned Reddy's lawyers that she would put Reddy in custody immediately if he pleaded guilty to the charge. Reddy is now free on a $ 10 million bond.

Reddy's attorney Ted Cassman is arguing that due to "extraordinary circumstances" Reddy should remain out on bail, like Jayaprakash and Annapurna, until his sentencing date. Judge Armstrong asked the defence and the prosecution to submit briefs to clarify the situation, and ordered Reddy to appear in the Oakland federal courthouse again on Wednesday.

"What is important is that Reddy came to court to plead guilty," said Jayashri Srikantiah, counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union Federation, which represents the victims in the case. "Today's pleas were the first step, the second step will be when Reddy pleads guilty on Wednesday," she said, hinting that the criminal charges would lead into the larger civil suit filed against the Reddys.

Reddy, 63, was arrested in January 2000 on charges that he illegally brought three teenage girls to the United States from his home village of Velvadam in Andhra Pradesh. Two of the three teenagers, who all worked in Reddy's downtown Berkeley restaurant, told police that the landlord kept the girls in one of his apartments nearby and regularly had sex with them, according to court records.

The case broke when one of the girls, Chanti Prattipati, 17, was found dead on the eve of Thanksgiving Day in November 1999 after she and her younger sister suffered carbon monoxide poisoning in a Reddy-owned apartment in Berkeley. The sister survived. She and her roommate blew the whistle on Reddy, court records show.

Authorities later arrested Reddy's sons, Vijay Kumar Lakireddy, 31, of Berkeley and Prasad Lakireddy, 42, of Lafayette, Jayaprakash, 47, of Oakland, and Annapurna, 46.

Reddy's sons have not changed their pleas of innocence. Interestingly, as part of the plea agreement, neither Jayaprakash nor Annapurna can be called as witnesses in Vijay and Prasad's trials.

Originally, both sides had tried to agree on a package plea deal that would include all five defendants. They attempted to hold a closed-door hearing last October, but a media attorney intervened, contending that it was illegal to have a secret hearing on such a matter. Judge Armstrong agreed and opened it to the public, but defense attorneys decided to pull out from the settlement and asked for more time.

The deal was nixed later by Prasad, who changed his mind and didn't want to plead guilty. He told rediff.com previously that he was innocent, and he would fight to clear his name, so that he could remain free and look after his wife and three young children.

Last Friday, rediff.com caught up with Prasad outside the family's Pasand restaurant in Berkeley. He had little to say other than confirming that he expected a settlement to be reached in the next "two to three weeks."

Today, he appeared in the courtroom with his lawyer and sat in the audience, and put his hand on Jayaprakash's shoulder after his uncle pleaded guilty. Jayaprakash gave Prasad an angry stare, and Prasad left the courtroom moments later.

The tension was evident when Reddy entered the courtroom, wearing a charcoal gray pinstripe suit and white running shoes, clutching an orange Hindu prayer book.

The back of his blazer was creased and rumpled, unbecoming of a man reportedly worth over $ 70 million and earning about $ 1 million a month in rental income alone. The only hint of his wealth was a glittering gold and sapphire ring he sported on his left hand. He chose a spot to sit down in the audience benches, but his attorney loudly ordered him to sit up front, as if she was scolding a schoolboy.

From time to time, Reddy would turn back to look at the audience, comprised mainly of journalists, and give them a withering glare, as if he were squinting to recognize anyone he might know. There were three South Asian men and two women in saris in the audience, none of whom were willing to comment.

Reddy was quick to sign his fate, taking Cassman's golden pen and hastily scribbling on the guilty plea documents that were brought before him only minutes after entering the courtroom. He later sat and listened with his arms crossed when Jayaprakash and Annapurna pleaded guilty.

Jayaprakash could hardly raise his voice to Judge Armstrong as he admitted his guilt. Annapurna, who hid her jade green and gold-tinted sari under a dull beige cardigan, sobbed softly as she was asked if she was guilty. She gave the audience a doleful look, her eyes heavily decorated in kajal and her forehead emblazoned with a red bindi.

Srikantiah took satisfaction in their pleas, and said they are "just the beginning."

"The facts will be discussed in the civil case," she said, referring to the class action that is being pursued by the ACLU against the Reddys. An initial suit was filed by the organization on behalf of Prattipati and her surviving sister, who suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning in an apartment owned by him. The suit also seeks damages on behalf of the girls's parents, Lakshmi and Jarmani Prattipati, in India.

Michael Rubin, a San Francisco attorney who has joined the ACLU in this case, said the criminal proceedings "makes it easier for us to prove several allegations.

"Of course, we are confident of our facts," he continued, "but civil litigation always benefits from guilty findings in criminal cases."

When asked about the victims, Rubin said he could not go into details, other than saying they are "fairly well, given the circumstances."

Design: Uttam Ghosh

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