Judge scolds potential plea deal for Dearborn man accused of trafficking Brazilian woman

Judge takes issue with potential plea deal for Dearborn man

The 58-year-old Dearborn man charged in connection with trafficking a woman from Brazil before her body was found on the side of a road in Northfield Township may get only probation, according to a potential plea deal with prosecutors.

DEARBORN, Mich. (FOX 2) - A judge overseeing a Dearborn man's human trafficking case took issue with a plea deal being discussed with prosecutors that would give the man only probation.

Fareed George Hajjar, 58, is charged in connection with a Brazilian woman whose body was found on the side of a road in Washtenaw County.

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A circuit court judge expressed shock at a potential plea deal for the Dearborn defendant accused of paying a woman from Brazil for sex before her body was found on the side of the road.

The woman, Suzan Ferreira, 42, a mother from South America, was discovered in Northfield Township on June 30, 2024. Investigators believe Hajjar paid Ferriera a week earlier.

Already serving two years of probation out of Washtenaw County for a conviction of mutilation and concealing a body, he could be given probation again for charges of human trafficking.

"We’d be pleading to the five-year offense with the understanding the 20-year offense would be dismissed," his defense attorney said Wednesday.

Fareed Hajjar, 58, of Dearborn.

What they're saying:

But from Judge Mark Somers' vantage, it's not a plea deal he could imagine family of Ferriera accepting.

"If I’m the family, I’m pounding my fist and screaming from the rafters that this should never be offered," the 19th Circuit Court judge said. 

Before signing off on anything, he told the court he wanted family to give their blessing. 

"I want to make sure that somebody actually talks to this family, especially the young girl whose mother is dead and dumped on the side of the road by somebody standing in this courtroom has some say in it before he gets probation," said Somers.

What's next:

Hajjar was given a $10,000 bond cash surety and will be required to wear a GPS tether. 

But before the defendant was free to go, he was called back into the court.

"I have a hard time believing the family of this lady would ever ever agree to this deal that is apparently being discussed. Nothing is done until it’s done," he said.