This page describes exploitation and abuse. Need to report something? How to report →
Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don’t have a verifiable source on file yet. Know one?
What happened
Edk Kenit, 29, and Choimina Lukas, 31, a Micronesian couple living in Longview pleaded guilty Tuesday in a human trafficking case in which they were accused of forcing an 18-year-old woman from their homeland to work for them. Kenit and Lukas admitted in federal court in the Western District of Washington that in March 2010 they recruited the victim, identified in court documents as "S.S.," to care for their three children and do cooking and cleaning seven days a week without pay. Kenit, Lukas and S.S. all are from the Chuuk island group in the Micronesian archipelago in the South Pacific. Culturally, S.S. felt bound to obey her elders, who threatened to harm her if she disobeyed, according to court documents. Longview Police Detective Steve Dennis, the initial investigator on the case, said their families apparently knew one another, so Kenit and Lukas "made arrangements to fly her here. They promised her wealth and everything that comes with America." Once S.S. got to the U.S., Kenit and Lukas forced “S.S.” to care for their children without pay, Dennis said. Kenit and Lukas fed the victim and allowed her to live in their duplex apartment at 2008 46th Ave. But in July 2010 they forced her to take a job at Foster Farms and seized her pay until she finally quit the job in October, Dennis said. When she began objecting to her treatment, they hid her passport. Micronesians need only a passport but no visas to enter the United States, Dennis said. So the woman was living and working here legally. However, stripped of her paperwork and unable to speak English, she was left in a frightening situation, Dennis said.
Response and intervention
Kenit and Lukas, who is Kenit's girlfriend, pleaded guilty to document servitude. They admitted taking control of S.S.'s passport and obtaining a Social Security card in her name and hiding it from her. They admit ordering her to get a full-time job at Foster Farms and requiring her to give them all her wages. This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Seattle Police Department High Risk Victims Unit and the Longview Police Department. Law enforcement received critical help from non-governmental organizations which specialize in providing services to victims of crime. The case is being prosecuted jointly by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ye-Ting Woo and Trial Attorney Daniel Weiss of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit. Sentencing of Edk Kenit and Choimina Lukas of Longview, WA Kenit and Lukas were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan of the Western District of Washington. Kenit was sentenced to 40 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Lukas was sentenced to 20 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. “S.S.” escaped in February 2011, after 11 months servitude. According to U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Jenny A. Durkan “ an alert neighbor and the Longview Police Department were able to rescue the victim from this abuse.” No aftercare was reported. Kenit and Lukas were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan of the Western District of Washington. Kenit was sentenced to 40 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Lukas was sentenced to 20 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.