SlaveryMap

Detroit, Michigan, United States

Joseph Djoumessi, 49, was found guilty of conspiracy, involuntary servitude and harboring for financial gain. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison, to run concurrent with a 9-to-15-year sentence he is currently serving for a Michigan state conviction related to the same crime. A jury also convicted Djoumessi’s wife, Evelyn Djoumessi, 42, of conspiracy and involuntary servitude. She was sentenced to five years in prison. The couple was also ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution to the victim. The couple (and the victim) were immigrants from Cameroon.

Location
United States · Detroit, Michigan · 2000 (location generalized to protect survivors)
Response & intervention
The police received a report from a neighbor and removed the victim from the home in which she was enslaved. A neighbor contacted the police and the victim Pridine Fru, was removed from the Djoumessi home.
Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don't have a verifiable source on file yet — use “Report a problem” below to add one.

← All documented cases