Days into the trial of a federal immigration officer accused of several “gunpoint sexual assaults,” jurors Monday finally heard the story behind a photo taken of the officer at a seafood buffet in Hoffman Estates.A sex worker took the witness stand and explained how her boss in China had sent he r to a 2022 lunch meeting there with a mission and a message.Her mission: Secure a photograph of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer Luis Uribe. The message, she said, “was asking him not to harm our girls — and we agree to provide free sex to him once per week.” Related Border Protection officer accused of sex assaults became ‘perfect mark’ for prostitution ring, lawyer says Still, that woman also admitted she’d lied in the past about who joined them at the lunch meeting, that she had failed to tell the feds about multiple encounters she’d had with Uribe, and that she never experienced any of the violence described by others who testified against him.“He never harmed me,” the woman testified.Federal prosecutors say Uribe used his gun and badge to sexually assault four women in Schaumburg and Naperville in 2022, when he was assigned to O’Hare Airport. They say his photo was taken at the northwest suburban buffet so it could be circulated among the community he’d targeted.Michael Clancy, Uribe’s attorney, maintains his client was set up by a prostitution ring overseen by a boss in China. He acknowledged Uribe visited prostitutes and is a “flawed” human being — but he said there’s no proof that Uribe robbed and raped the women, as prosecutors allege.The trial at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse appears to be nearing its end, with prosecutors likely to rest their case Tuesday. Uribe might then testify in his own defense. Related In CBP officer’s rape trial, woman describes alleged attack at Schaumburg hotel: ‘He showed a badge’ Uribe is charged with 10 counts of deprivation of civil rights under color of law and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. He has been held in federal custody since his arrest last December.The woman who testified Monday has been described by Clancy as the “on-the-ground Chicago boss of a prostitution ring that is [run] by another boss, located in China.” But when asked by Clancy whether she was “the boss of a prostitution ring,” she denied it.“I am never a boss,” she said. “I worked, myself.”The woman said she was born in China and spoke little English. She testified Monday with help from an interpreter and became visibly frustrated at times.She twice complained “my head hurts” while fielding the lawyers’ questions.The woman explained she came to the Chicago area around 2018 or 2019, and first met Uribe at a Naperville Red Roof Inn. She said Uribe paid $300 to have sex with her and another woman. Later, she said, Uribe told her he was “immigration police.”She said they exchanged phone numbers and continued their relationship. She admitted Monday she had three or four additional encounters with Uribe after their meeting at the Red Roof Inn — encounters she’d never told federal authorities about.“They didn’t ask me about that,” she insisted.The woman said she used Google Translate to communicate with Uribe. Related O’Hare-based Border Protection officer sexually abused, robbed women at gunpoint, indictment claims She acknowledged once asking Uribe to run out and buy K-Y Jelly for her while she was working in Schaumburg. She also admitted becoming jealous when she saw Uribe touching a friend of hers.Meanwhile, she said she thought Uribe might be able to help with her immigration status, as well as with a friend who’d been detained by immigration authorities.“When he couldn’t help you and your bosses, you turned on him, correct?” Clancy asked her.She denied it, insisting she only became angry when she saw Uribe touching her friend.The woman also acknowledged she’d previously lied to cover up the fact that the same friend had attended the lunch meeting at the seafood buffet in Hoffman Estates. She said her friend, who was pregnant at the time, actually took the photo of Uribe that day.“I only lied once,” the woman told the jury.Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Rothblatt questioned the woman about the lunch meeting. He asked multiple times whether Uribe denied harming anyone. The woman simply told Rothblatt, “that didn’t come up.”But when the meeting was over, she said Uribe “followed us back to the hotel” and had sex with two other women.“And did he pay for it?” Rothblatt asked.“No,” she said. “It’s free.” ...read more read less