Metro

Aunt accused of luring niece to US to be hubby’s sex slave faces girl’s mother in court

A Queens woman accused of luring her niece to America to be her husband’s sex slave — and a potential baby surrogate for her — came face to face in court today with her heartbroken sister, the alleged victim’s mother.

Ana Lopez told jurors she let her 15-year-old daughter come to New York illegally because she couldn’t afford to keep her in El Salvador.

Lopez said she let the girl stay with her sister, Angelica Mencias, on the promise of a better life.

“If I could have taken the legal road, I would have done it the right way,” Lopez said through an interpreter.

“But since Angelica gave this opportunity for her I couldn’t pass it up.”

The court appearance marked Lopez’s first time out of El Salvador, a trip she made to testify against her own sister.

Prosecutors said that in August 2010, after Angelica, 57, paid a smuggler to help the girl get into the country, she watched as her husband, Javier, 38, allegedly raped the girl in their Richmond Hill home after plying her with beer and alcohol.

Months earlier, Angelica had propositioned the girl to be their surrogate mother. The girl had refused, but came to New York anyway on the aunt’s promise of a good job and an education.

The Mencias’ face more than 25 years in prison if convicted for rape, sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child charges.