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
The trafficker (Dann) arranged for the victim (Peña Canal) to travel from her native Peru to the United States in 2006 (initial contact and promises made in 2002) and enter under a fraudulently-obtained visa to serve as a nanny and housekeeper. Dann was going through a divorce at the time, was unemployed, and was not receiving child support. Once Peña Canal arrived, Dann kept her passport, forbade her from speaking with anyone outside the home, and failed to pay her for two years, although she often promised that she would. She repeatedly threatened to send Peña Canal back to Peru; and yet when Peña Canal agreed to go home, Dann told her that she would owe her $8,000 because she had only worked off $7,000 of the $15,000 worth of “expenses” that Dann had paid on her behalf. Dann eventually asked Peña Canal to sign a false statement that she had been paid minimum wage. Dann never returned Peña Canal’s passport or Peruvian identification. A police officer testified that he went to the apartment on Peña Canal’s behalf to ask for these papers. Dann was not present but called him back later. She denied having any documents, denied knowing what he was talking about, and denied having any property that belonged to PeñaCanal. In June of 2008, ICE agents searched Dann’s apartment. They found Peña Canal’s passport, her Peruvian identification card, and checks for a bank account in her name, along with the agreement that Dann had forced her to sign about minimum wage, all buried under clothing in a drawer in Dann’s room.
Response and intervention
Mabelle de la Rosa Dann (“Dann”) was charged in 2008 with conspiracy to commit visa fraud (count one), visa fraud (count two), forced labor (count three), unlawful conduct regarding documents in furtherance of servitude (count four), and harboring an illegal alien for the purpose of private financial gain (count five). On April 14, 2010, the US district court sentenced Dann to 60 months on each count, to run concurrently. The court also ordered restitution in the amount of $123,740.34, payable to Peña Canal. As part of this restitution, the district court ordered that any accrued child support payable to Dann while she is incarcerated be paid directly to Peña Canal. Peña Canal also filed a civil suit against Dann, seeking civil, punitive and other damages. Peña Canal was granted a default judgment and $612,812.82 in compensatory and punitive damages. All legal issues were taken care of, she was given a T-Visa, and also was placed in a shelter La Raza Centro Legal, an immigration advocacy group