Type of modern slavery
Domestic Servitude
Forced labor inside a private home — cooking, cleaning, childcare — where isolation hides the abuse from view.
SlaveryMap documents 134 cases of domestic servitude.
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan women recruited for domestic work in Gulf states through fraudulent agencies. Abuse confinement wage theft Accused: Unlicensed recruitment agencies with Gulf networks.
London, United Kingdom
Saudi diplomat's domestic worker held on diplomatic visa. Passport confiscated worked around the clock slept on kitchen floor Accused: Saudi diplomatic family.
Paris, France
West African teenager promised education instead forced to cook and clean from 5am to midnight. No pay no schooling Accused: French-Ivorian family.
Ellenwood, Georgia, USA, United States
Juna Gwedolyn Babb, 56, and Michael J. Babb, 55, both of Ellenwood, Ga., pleaded guilty in federal court to felony offenses related to a scheme to compel the labor of a young woman from the Kingdom of Swaziland in southern Africa, announced the Department of Justice. “Schemes like this one target the most vulnerable in our society,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The department is committed to prosecuting individuals who engage in acts that exploit individuals who wish to work in our country.” “This case reminds us that modern day slavery is occurring in our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “This young woman believed that she was only traveling to the United States for a brief visit to help with a wedding. Instead, she was compelled to labor for the defendants for more than two years. It is especially disturbing that the victim was exploited by a minister and his wife.” According to the indictment and information presented in court, in or about March 2005, Juna Babb, while visiting the Kingdom of Swaziland, invited the victim, then a 29 year-old cook, to travel to the United States to cater for a family wedding. In fact, there was no wedding, and Juna Babb instead intended to harbor the woman in the United States and compel her to work as a housekeeper in her home for little or no pay. Subsequently, upon the victim’s arrival at the defendant’s home in Ellenwood, Juna Babb concealed her from detection by law enforcement while compelling her housekeeping services from in or about June 2005, through in or about February 2007. During this time, Juna Babb also threatened the victim over the debt she owed for her travel to the United States, and with arrest and deportation because she was in the United States illegally. Michael Babb, a minister, knew of his wife’s harboring of the victim, as well as the fact that Juna Babb was compelling the victim’s labor. However, Michael Babb failed to notify an authority of the United States as soon as possible of the alien harboring, and affirmatively concealed his wife’s crime by denying that the victim worked as the defendants’ housekeeper to special agents of the FBI. Juna Babb pleaded guilty to the offense of harboring an alien for financial gain, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Michael Babb pleaded guilty to the offense of misprision of a felony for concealing his wife’s criminal conduct and for lying to federal agents. This offense carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
Overland Park, Kansas, USA, United States
Hsien-Hsien “Jacqueline” Liu, 64, of Taiwan, residing in Overland Park, Kan., waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty on November 18, 2011 before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to the charge of fraud in foreign labor contracting for fraudulently obtaining two Filipino servants for her residence. By pleading guilty, Liu admitted that she fraudulently entered into employment contracts with two Filipino housekeepers, whom Liu then brought to the United States to work for her on B-1 visas. Liu paid them significantly less than the contractual amount and forced them to work excessive hours. In November 2010, Liu recruited and solicited a female citizen of Manila, Phillippines (identified in the plea agreement as Female Victim #1) to come to the United States to work as a housekeeper for her residence. Liu sent a signed contract via both Federal Express and fax from Kansas City, Mo., to Manila, which contained fraudulent terms of employment. The employment contract, which was used to obtain a B-1 visa for the victim, required that she be paid $1,240 per month to work 40 hours a week, eight hours a day. It only required her to be present in the residence during work hours. Liu admitted that she did not intend to comply with these terms. From March 6, 2011 to August 2011, contrary to the terms of the contract, Liu only paid the victim $450 a month, increased her work hours to 16-18 hours per day, and required that she work on the weekends and holidays. Liu had surveillance cameras installed inside the residence to monitor the victim and did not allow her to leave the residence without supervision or permission. The government’s investigation uncovered evidence that Liu had earlier engaged in the same conduct with another employee. Although the original federal criminal complaint charged Liu with conduct related to Female Victim #1, the affidavit filed in support of that complaint referred to a second victim. As part of the plea agreement, Liu is required to accept responsibility for the prior victim (identified in the plea agreement as Female Victim #2), also a woman from the Philippines, whom Liu employed in 2009-2010. Liu is the Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office located in Kansas City, Mo. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) is one of 13 offices responsible for maintaining close unofficial relations between the people of the United States and the people of Taiwan. They are generally the equivalent of a consulate of a foreign government, but the United States does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state.
Bellingham, Washington, USA, United States
On August 22, 2011 Cherry Valera, 44, and Bernard Salvatierra, 46, a married couple from Bellingham, Washington were sentenced by U.S. District Judge James L. Robart in connection with their May 10, 2011 guilty pleas. Valera pleaded guilty to harboring an alien for financial gain and Salvatierra pleaded guilty to unlawful employment of an alien. Valera was sentenced to four months in prison and 100 hours of community service during two years of supervised release. Salvatierra was sentenced to 6 months of home detention with electronic monitoring. According to court filings, Valera recruited an impoverished, young woman from the Philippines to be her family’s live-in domestic servant. Valera and Salvatierra employed the victim from August 2006 until September 2009, when she escaped. During her employment, the victim was required to work seven days a week, providing full-time childcare, cleaning, cooking and other domestic services. The victim endured verbal abuse and threats during her stay with the defendants, who paid the victim $200 to $240 per month.
San Francisco, CA, United States
A couple lured a Brazilian woman (who the wife knew as the victim was a childhood friend) to the U.S. by offering her free lodging at their home and work as the family’s housekeeper and nanny for $1,500 a month with the promise of pursuing a nursing degree and a better life for her and her son. However, once the victim began working, her traffickers took her passport from her, withheld pay and food, was physically attacked by the wife, and was sexually molested by the husband. The traffickers claimed to have immunity and therefore any accusation made by the victim against them would be fruitless.
Longview, Washington, USA, United States
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.
Meyzieu, France, France
French Couple (Male aged 66 as of December 2010) and their family (the victim’s domestic duties included care for the family’s grandmother). KNOWN DATES: * 1979 – victim first worked for her traffickers in Senegal * Unknown dates: victim worked for her traffickers in Spain * 1997 Victim transported by her traffickers into France by car (without being controlled by immigration) * 2009 Victim fled her trafficker’s property * Unknown date – arrest of traffickers * Trial – October 2010 * Sentencing - December 2010, Lyon: SENTENCING: one year suspended sentence and “nearly 42,000 euros to the complainant in respect of back pay, rights retirement and compensation.” THE PROSECUTION HAD REQUESTED: two years suspended sentence and two years of probation as well as 60,000 Euro for the victim. This was publicized as France’s first domestic slavery case under Article 224-4-1 of the Penal Code (November 2007). Notice that in this case the unpaid & underpaid labor began in Senegal (1979) & continued during approximately 30 years including some time in Spain before approximately 12 years in France.
Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA, United States
Cardiologist Javier Julio Arce, M.D. 58, and his ex-wife, Cristina Mier Arce, 55, were charged with harboring a Bolivian undocumented worker — their maid — for 15 years as a virtual prisoner and using her for their financial gain. On June 23, 2011 a grand jury alleged that they kept the woman in their service as a domestic by telling her she would be arrested and deported if she left their home. They allegedly told her falsely that they were depositing money in a bank account in her name when they knew no such account existed. And after promising the woman — identified only as “I. L.” — a monthly salary, they paid her paid her no more than $20,000 over 12 years as she cared for their children, made their meals and cleaned their home and Dr. Arce’s medical office. The indictment also charges that Cristina Arce refused to return the woman’s passport, despite “repeated requests”, falsely telling her it was lost. The indictment said the Arces recruited “I. L.” to travel to the United States and conspired to harbor and exploit her from 1994 to 2006 at the home they shared at 718 Freeman Lane in Elizabethtown. It says that after the couple divorced, Dr. Arce harbored the woman for financial gain from 2006 to 2009 at his residence at 2605 Stonemill Drive in Elizabethtown.
Upper Marlboro, MD, USA, United States
According to a recent federal indictment, Alfred Edwards, 73, and Gloria Edwards, 60, both of Upper Marlboro, Md.,forced a Filipina woman to work for them, threatening and assaulting her. The couple enticed the victim to come to the United States to work as their domestic servant, according to the five-count indictment. The woman was an impoverished, uneducated, mother of eight, officials stated. The defendants promised her a salary that would support her children in the Philippines. According to the indictment, the defendants gained a false visa for the woman, and confiscated her documents after she arrived. They forced her to work for 13 hours a day for ten years, using a scheme of threats, assaults, withholding of documents, withholding of pay, and a peonage contract to coerce the victim’s continued service.
Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia
A family from Saudi Arabia including a man, woman and their children hired a live-with domestic helper from Sri Lanka through a hiring agency in Saudi Arabia. After five months, Mrs. L.G.A. returned home to Sri Lanka, where after her arrival it was discovered she had 23 nails and one needle, some as long as 2" throughout her body. According to L.G.A: "I had to work continuously since I had to do the chores of all the occupants and when I wanted to take rest due to tiredness, they inserted the nail in my body as punishment.I had to work from dawn to dusk. I hardly slept. They beat me and threatened to kill me and hide my body."
Phoenix, AZ, United States
Deputy Sheriff Alfredo Navarrette ICE Trained Navarette admitted to passing information about the sheriff's crime-prevention operations to the group, Arpaio said. The deputy also was accused of being part of a separate human trafficking ring that smuggled illegal immigrants from Arizona to California. Navarette, who was once assigned to sheriff's human smuggling unit and was cross-trained as a federal immigration agent, regularly smuggled loads of illegal immigrants, Arpaio said. Detention Officer Sylvia Najera ICE Trained Detention Officer Marcella Hernandez ICE Trained All three officers were ICE trained. They are accused of tipping off drug traffickers and human smugglers about ongoing investigations. Hernandez allegedly had an ongoing personal relationship with a major drug kingpin and was 8-months pregnant with his child. According to court documents, she arranged the transfer of multiple heroin loads and allowed her boyfriend's drug trafficking organization to use her two houses as stash houses. Najera also allegedly had ties to a big drug trafficking ring. Perhaps the most shocking revelation is that Navarrette used to work in the anti-human smuggling unit for a short time, and when officers raided his house, they found two illegal immigrants being housed inside. According to court documents, 37-year-old Navarrette was a member of the drug trafficking organization and drove load vehicles, laundered money, and transported illegal immigrants from Arizona to California, among many other duties.
Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States
Elina Sihombing Age: 47 Recruiting, harboring and transporting individuals for the purpose of forced labor, and removing or confiscating the victims' immigration documents David Girle Age: 54 Both of them are owners of America's Best Value Inn on Picacho Avenue in Las Cruces, NM. The couple was charged with "obtaining the labor and services of two Indonesian women by force, threats of force and physical restraint" according to a criminal complaint by the U.S. Department of Justice. According to the criminal complaint, in 2004, Sihombing and Girle allegedly brought the first of their two alleged victims from Indonesia to Phoenix, Ariz., where they were then living, as a nanny for their toddler and with the understanding that the alleged victim would have the opportunity to obtain an education and prepare for a career. Instead, the victim allegedly was forced to work as a nanny and household help and assisted with remodeling of the couple's residence from 8 a.m. to midnight every day, but was never paid for her work and was never given an opportunity to attend college as she was promised. The complaint alleges that, in 2005, Sihombing and Girle brought another woman to Phoenix from Indonesia who did the same type of work for the couple without any pay. The complaint further alleges that on July 27, 2007, Sihombing and Girle moved to Las Cruces where they purchased America's Best Value Inn and lived on the motel grounds. Sihombing and Girle allegedly told the two victims that, after the motel was remodeled and sold, they would be paid for their labor, according to the complaint. Sihombing and Girle allegedly required their victims to work from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. every day with no days off. The victims were not allowed to leave the motel and were only allowed access to their families in Indonesia if the contact was monitored by the couple, the complaint alleges. In 2009, the victims allegedly asked Girle about their immigration documents, and he told them he had them for safekeeping. Girle also advised them that their visas had expired. Sihombing allegedly withheld food from the victims as punishment and also threatened to call immigration authorities if the two did not do as Sihombing demanded. The complaint alleges that this type of treatment continued until Jan. 4, 2010, when the two victims left the motel.
Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa, South Africa
The victim ran away from the family that was keeping her. She got a train where a man said he would help her get back home. He then raped her. The train security found her and called the police.
Assam, West Bengal, india, India
Ismail Ahmed Age: 32 from Nowagaon in Assam Babita Age: 25 Both of these individuals run an illegal placement agency, Ashok Chand. Ahmed was arrested on May 5 from Shakarpur, while he was allegedly trying to sell a minor girl for Rs 1.5 lakh to a decoy customer. During questioning, Ahmed told police that brokers and agents operating in Assam, West Bengal and areas near the Indo-Bangladesh border would send minors to Delhi with promises of a better life. Once here, they would be handed over to an illegal placement agency run by Babita. Seven minor girls and boys, employed as domestic helps, were rescued during the operation — conducted with the help of NGO Shakti Vahini. The traffickers followed two different modules. "Children between the ages of 11-15 were placed in domestic households. Those above 15, especially girls, were sold off in Delhi and Haryana. Girls brought from Bangladesh were promised jobs in modeling agencies. Extreme poverty often led their parents to accept the agents' propositions,'' said an officer. It was revealed that the children had no knowledge either any salary was being paid to them or being sent to their parents for the household work they performed. Most of them had no contact with their parents after coming to Delhi. "The agent was paid a sum of Rs 20,000 to 25,000 by Babita for each minor child. She in turn charged Rs 20,000 to 35,000 from the employer where the children were employed as an initial payment. Then an agreement of 11 months was drawn up with the employer for payment of monthly salary. The monthly salary that was paid was also misappropriated by Babita and it never reached their parents," Mr Chand said.
Suwanee, Georgia, United States
Bidemi Bello, a 41 year old citizen of Nigeria, separately recruited two young women from Nigeria and brought them her home in Suwanee to work as her nanny with the promise of putting them through school. Instead, she forced them to work as her unpaid servants, forcing them to chores by hand, despite having modern appliances. She would make them do things such as cutting the lawn using a knife, and regularly beat them. The young women said Bello beat them with a large wooden spoon, shoes, electric cords and with her hands. Despite living in an upscale home that had multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, Bello made the young women sleep on the floor or a couch. She also would not let them use the shower, but instead required them to bathe with water from a bucket.
Kuala Lumpur, Northern Perlis, Malaysia
Lee In Chiew Age: 49 Businessman and former teacher Was charged in a district court in northern Perlis state Monday with multiple counts of human trafficking. A Malaysian court charged a man with exploiting 63 Indonesian women who claimed they were lured to Malaysia and forced to work as house cleaners with little or no pay, a lawyer said on Tuesday. The women, promised work as maids for 500 ringgit ($160) a month, claimed they were forced to work long hours as cleaners at various houses, mostly without pay, for at least two years. The youngest rescued woman is 17 years old. Malaysia employs nearly 2 million foreigners, mostly from poorer regional countries, in its construction, plantation, manufacturing and service industries. Many complain of overwork, unpaid salaries and sometimes even physical abuse, but prosecutions have been rare.
Harrow, United States
Trafficker, 68 from Tanzania. Recruited Victim for domestic servitude. Promised £21 per month for her daughters college fees and £10 per month pocket money. However, confiscated victims documents and made her work from 6.00 am until 12.00 am every day.
Kibuye, Kampala, Uganda, Uganda
A CSW in the home where the 14 year old was working as a housecleaner got help from UYDEL and brought the girl in because she knew what would happen to her in the future.
Bolshoi Ballet Academy (Moscow State Academy of Choreography), Moscow, Russia, Russian Federation
In the summer of 1998, Schneider traveled to Moscow, Russia where he told two ballet instructors at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography that he was willing to provide “assistance” to students attending the academy. The instructors identified a 12-year old student whose family could no longer afford to pay his board. Schneider convinced the boy’s parents to allow him to live with Schneider in an apartment a few blocks from the school. From the fall of 1998 until 2004, Schneider engaged in a sexual relationship with the victim, bringing him to Philadelphia for a summer program in 2001, then returning to Moscow with the victim in August 2001 to continue the sexual relationship. Schneider paid for private ballet lessons at the apartment, and provided the victim with food and clothing. But he told the youngster to keep their relationship a secret. They had oral sex approximately three times a week and later anal sex about four times a week when he was 14 and 15 years old. The victim was exploited sexually (as a domestic sex servant), with the provision of room and board as a means of coercion.
South Fremont, CA, United States
Fang Ping Ding, 62; Wei Wei Liang, 36; and Bo Shen, 43 recruited a woman from China in December of 2007. They brought her to the U.S. to live in Ding's home and be a nanny and house-cleaner. Upon her arrival at the home, the Chinese woman's passport, identification papers and documents, and visa were taken from her. She proceeded to work in the home which included cleaning, cooking, and providing childcare services. During the work that was forced upon her, she was physically abused and received no pay. The victim escaped in April 2009 and contacted authorities with the help of a passerby. Ding was sentenced to 37 months in prison on a human-trafficking charge for forcing this woman to work as an unpaid live-in domestic servant and for confiscating the woman's visa, passport, and other documents. Liang was sentenced to home confinement. Shen was sentenced to probation on related immigration charges of harboring the victim. The defendants must also jointly pay the woman $83,867.
New Lane, Acomb, York, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Antonia Pearson-Gaballonie, age 36, of New Lane, Acomb, York. She was married to the victim's brother but he was posted to Wiltshire and she refused to move with him. She then hired the victim as a nanny for her children and forced her to clean the house naked, beg for her food as well as beaten. Pearson-Gaballonie later married Neil Pearson, age 35, who was also convicted of aiding and abetting his wife in committing assault. The jury heard Pearson-Gaballonie had been previously married to Miss Sandeman's brother. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/north_yorkshire/5328158.stm
Northern Cape, South Africa, South Africa
Three girls did happen to escape from this situation, but 13 girls were left behind at the house. Because of the lack of legislation against labor trafficking, there was not much the police could do. The girls were also happy to stay in their situation with a hope for possible payment, even if it is less than what they were offered.
Clarendon St, Cape Town, South Africa
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20100422124204355C380047 The trafficker involved in this investigation is a woman who is suspected to be a part of a larger trafficking ring run out of a warehouse that she owns in Parow, Cape Town. Operating under the guise of an employment agency, they would target girls in rural areas in the Norther Cape (such as Prieska) and bring them to Cape Town under the promise of providing a better life and good jobs with good salaries. Instead the girls found themselves working in the woman’s house or in the shops of people that she knew. The girls were often accused of making a mistake with the till in the shop and would receive large cuts in their pay – some never saw a pay cheque at all. Those who were lucky enough to work in the woman’s house would receive the occasional portion of rice and meat, but usually they were only fed dry bread in the morning and baked beans for supper in the evenings. After being rescued one of the young women told the officers that she had had a miscarriage the week before, but had not received any medical attention. She said that when she had told the warehouse owner, she simply replied that t was “not her problem.” Although the woman who owned the warehouse claimed that the girls could leave at any time, the young women told police that they were locked into the property at night and that they were not allowed to leave the warehouse. They were held captive and not even allowed to approach the front of the warehouse, but were told they must remain at the back.
Matuga Uganda, Uganda
Mr. Mukasa came a village and promised to support a 17 year oldgril in school when her family could not. On the ride to her destination, Mr. Mukasa denied the girl food and told her she would not go to school but would work as a house girl. She was denied food, beaten.
Kayebando Uganda, Uganda
The 16 year old girl was abducted by Mrs. Gayita and taken to another woman’s home where she was forced to work as a nanny and house girl. For the two months she worked, she was never paid. When sent to town to buy something for her trafficker, the girl came back to find her house abandoned. She contacted Mrs. Gayita asking for help, and in return her abducter took her into her home. There, she was repeatedly raped by her abducter’s husband.
Paso Robles, CA, United States
FBI intervened and arrested the traffickers. http://www.keyt.com/news/local/89520292.html http://www.kionrightnow.com/global/story.asp?s=12227258 http://920kvec.com/FBI-Arrests-Paso-Robles-Couple-Suspected-Of-Human-/6700143
El Paso, Texas, Ghana
Nothing reported besides that they held the woman from Mexico for 18 years (since 1989) as a domestic servant.
MANILA, Philippines, Philippines
The Task Force said Sollano was able to establish that respondents (Tanenglian et al) received and employed her as their housemaid for a period of more than five years. "Within this period, complainant suffered cruelty, physical abuse from the hands of respondents, and had been subjected to a condition prejudicial to her normal development as a child.” The task force also took note of a contract signed by respondent Mariano – which evidenced that complainant was employed as a housemaid – with intention to extract forced labor or involuntary servitude from her for five years without salary and under constant condition of harm and threat. The DOJ also used as basis in filing the case in court the respective affidavits of Sollano’s father, who claimed that he has not seen his daughter since she left the province in 2004; members of the Quezon City police; and representatives of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) who were part of the team that rescued Sollano from the Tanenglian residence in August 2009.
Arlington, Texas, United States
From DOJ Press Release - Feb 2, 2010 ====================== Arlington, Texas, Couple Convicted of Forced Labor and Other Crimes for Holding Nigerian Woman in Domestic Servitude . http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/February/10-crt-118.html . A federal jury has convicted an Arlington, Texas, husband and wife, Emmanuel and Ngozi Nnaji, of engaging in a nine-year scheme to compel the labor of a Nigerian victim as their domestic servant, the Justice Department announced. . According to the evidence at trial, Emmanuel Nnaji and Ngozi Nnaji enticed a widowed Nigerian mother of six to come to the United States to be their domestic servant by falsely promising a salary and support for her children, who she was struggling to support. . The defendants procured fraudulent immigration documents, confiscated the victim's documents, harbored her in their home, compelled her to work long hours with no days off for little or no pay, used a scheme to isolate her and restrict her communications, withheld her documents and pay, and refused her requests to return home or be paid. The defendants also failed to provide support for the victim's six children in Nigeria, limited and monitored contact with her family in Nigeria, isolated her from normal society in the United States, and refused to allow her to regularly attend church. According to the evidence at trial, Emmanuel Nnaji sexually assaulted the victim and made her fearful to call the police.
San Francisco, United States
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.
West Vancouver, Canada
Mumtaz Ladha Age: 55 Muslim from Tanzania The Public Prosecution Service of Canada on Thursday approved one charge of human trafficking and one charge of human smuggling against Ladha. According to reports, in 2008 Mumtaz Ladha hired a 21-year-old woman from Africa, promising her a job in a hair salon and a work visa. When the woman arrived in Canada, police say, she was made to work in Ladha’s home as a maid unwillingly for 18 hours a day, seven days a week, with no salary. Mumtaz Ladha also allegedly confiscated her passport. In 2009, the woman was able to escape to a woman’s shelter where workers contacted police, prompting the RCMP Border Integrity Program’s Human Trafficking Team to launch an investigation with West Vancouver police. “This is well beyond what anyone would expect are reasonable working conditions,” said RCMP Const. Michael McLaughlin. “She was essentially a prisoner in the home.” He described a life of forced labour where the victim was often not allowed to sleep if anyone else in the house was awake and she was charged with tasks like hand washing underwear and washing visitors’ cars. “She wasn’t even allowed sufficient food. She was only allowed to eat the table scraps of what the rest of the family had eaten,” said McLaughlin. McLaughlin said that Ladha lived with other family members who were likely aware of the girl’s treatment, but that there was not enough evidence to prosecute them. The charges in the superseding indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant IS presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Eastern Cape, South Africa, South Africa
After a few months of not getting paid, the girl escaped and found her way to the department of Labour where she filed a report.
Falls Church, United States
Prosecutors say Lubis threatened the women and their families with violence if they disobeyed him, and held their passports so they couldn't flee. The list of Lubis' 50 clients divulged in court filings by federal prosecutors includes a high-profile Washington attorney, multiple doctors -- among them a high-ranking doctor at a Maryland hospital -- and an engineer who invented an electric backup system for houses that use well water. No charges have been filed against the people who employed the women, and The Examiner has chosen not to release their names. But prosecutors had tough words for the wealthy area homeowners who used the slave labor. "The various employers are also participants" in Lubis' scheme, prosecutors wrote. "They knew or were willfully blind to the fact that the victims were illegal aliens and that Lubis harbored them." Lubis' actions amount to what human trafficking experts call modern-day slavery. "Traffickers take advantage of desperation," said Mark Lagon, director of the Polaris Project and former head of the State Department's human trafficking office. "They take advantage of people in such flagrant ways that it's slavery." Andrea Powell, director of Fair Fund, an advocacy group for human trafficking victims, said, "People are so desperate to come to the U.S. that they are willing to put up with all kinds of abuse, including slavery."
Kiteezi Uganda, Uganda
A 16 year old girl's sister’s husband promised her a good life in the city, and her continuation in school. She was instead forced to wash clothes, fetch water and cook food for the family. The husband started demanding sex from her and threatened to kick her out if she did not comply.
Bweyogere, Uganda, Uganda
A 17 year old was taken from her parents by her older sister who promised she would provide her a good education and $15 a month. Instead she was forced to do rigorous house work for no pay. She was often beaten when she messed up.
kisaasi uganda, Uganda
Mama Ibrahim came to village to get some one to help her out because she was about to give birth. A 14 year old girl was promised education. She worked as a house maid, cooking and washing the children. She was neglected, forced to work and denied food.
Kisaasi Uganda, Uganda
Mr. Kibirige promised a girl employment in Kampala and that she would have a safe place to stay. The victim was forced to be a house girl and nanny. she was paid $12 a month. The victim was raped by her trafficker.
Kakindu, Uganda, Uganda
A 10 year old girl was offered a job that would send money to her family. Her father forced her to drop out of school and go work as a house maid. She was forced to clean the house, and wash clothes. She was never paid for her work. She was beaten severely by her trafficker.
Atlanta, GA, United States
DOJ Press Release - 12/9/09 ================= Minister and Wife Charged with Human Trafficking and Immigration Violations for Exploiting Woman from Swaziland Defendant Allegedly Enticed Victim to Travel to the U.S. from Africa Intending to Force the Victim to Work as Their Housekeeper and Nanny . http://atlanta.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/at120909.htm . ATLANTA Between about March 2005, and continuing until on or about February 7, 2007, JUNA GWENDOLYN BABB and MICHAEL J. BABB allegedly conspired to compel the labor of the victim by enticing her to come to the United States from the Kingdom of Swaziland, Africa, by falsely promising her a lucrative, short-term opportunity to provide catering services at the wedding of a family member of the BABBs. However, upon the victim’s arrival to the United States, the couple allegedly conspired to, and did harbor her for the purpose of obtaining and maintaining her labor as a housekeeper and nanny in their home through the use of debt and threats of arrest and imprisonment. . Specifically, after the victim's arrival in the United States, the defendants confiscated her passport and return airline ticket, and told the victim that she owed them a debt for the costs of her travel to the United States. The BABBs allegedly then compelled the victim's labor by using the debt that they claimed the victim owed them, and by threatening her with arrest and imprisonment by immigration authorities once her tourist visa expired. The couple then allegedly required the victim to clean the homes of their friends and associates, and to assist with MICHAEL BABB's construction business. The indictment also alleges that the defendants required the victim to work long hours every day of the week, for which the victim was grossly underpaid on those few occasions that the BABBs paid her at all for her labor and services.
Pacific, WA, United States
The case information is provided through Lornet Turnbull's Seattle Times article "Pair Accused of Smuggling, Enslaving Illegal Immigrants," which was published on 11/27/09. The traffickers are Pacific couple Maria Bartola Santos-Gonzalez, 63, and Juan Gonzalez-Guerra, 55. Their son also has probable links to their operation. Between October 2006 and August 2007, the couple smuggled illegal immigrants to Pacific from Aguascalientes, Mexico for $3000-$3500 each. There are eight identified victims, including an eight-year-old girl who alleges that Gonzalez-Guerra sexually molested her, and her seven-year-old brother, who alleges that Santos-Gonzalez physically abused him. Some worked as domestic servants while others, through phony work permits, worked in jobs in construction and agriculture. Most were forced to live in a 20x25foot detached two-car garage. They were limited to two meals per day, and the refrigerator was locked in the interim. They were coerced to remain in their trafficking situation by threats: "The couple threatened to 'cut out their tongues' if they told anyone about what happened." They also "told the immigrants the police wouldn't listen to them anyway because they were undocumented."
Hudson, NJ, United States
In what police call "disturbing behavior" that lasted eight months, Carter, owner of First Priority Pay at 50 Harrison St. in Hoboken, allegedly kept the victim in "involuntary servitude" in a cold Adams Street apartment and issued bizarre commands, such as having her call him "Dom," short for
Hillcrest Ave, La Canada, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Tija and his wife were tried in 2008 and pleaded guilty to criminal human trafficking and false imprisonment charges. Jury awarded the victim $768,000 in the case which is believed to be the first case adjudicated under the California Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
Chiang Mai, Thailand, Thailand
Eighteen year old's mother sold her into marriage to earn profit. After being with her first husband for two months, where she worked as a housekeeper, nanny, and cook, her husband found another wife and her mother took her back. Her mother then sold her again to a different man, collecting her earnings for a second time.
Blackburn, Lancashire, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
The perpetrator was arrested and the victims were released, after one of the victims had escaped and reported to local authorities. In a news report, one of the victims makes a statement that she had previously not known of help in the police, and she now encourages other women who are in similar circumstances for hope in turning to the police.
houston, texas, United States
Yes. He was employing workers and forcing them to work 14 hour shifts with little pay. Victim was lured by the lie that heéshe would be able to keep her passport and A minimum wage was given to the victim and limited work of 8 hours a day. When caught, Mohammed Abdulazz Al-Zehairi is forced to pay the victim $143,532.20. It does not mention if the victim was deported or not.
houston, texas, United States
Yes. He was employing workers and forcing them to work 14 hour shifts with little pay. Victim was lured by the lie that heéshe would be able to keep her passport and A minimum wage was given to the victim and limited work of 8 hours a day. When caught, Mohammed Abdulazz Al-Zehairi is forced to pay the victim $143,532.20. It does not mention if the victim was deported or not.
London, England, United Kingdom
A woman approached parents in Africa and told them she would find their daughters a home and a better life in London. She single-handedly escorted the six of them on a flight from Africa to the UK. On arrival in the UK, she loaded them into a waiting van and dropped them off at various locations around the city. The new guardians who received them paid the trafficker some money. One of the victims worked as a household servant to a married couple with a young son. Her duties ran about 12 hours a day, but she was sometimes wakened after hours to do more chores. If she didn’t hear her master’s call, the woman of the household would pour cold water on her face while she was sleeping. She was verbally abused and beaten for very slight offenses, and sent to clean the homes of friends. Her identification papers were confiscated.
Washington, D.C., United States
One of them escaped. She just opened the door and ran. She wasn't wearing shoes, it was October and bitterly cold in suburban Washington, D.C.. She was frightened, "and I told myself I really give up I don’t care whatever happen with my life right now I think I’ve tried my best running away…" She called the number of a Cameroonian man who visited her slave owner's house occasionally and seemed concerned about Rose. The man picked her up hours later. Another Cameroonian man found out what was happening. He took the victim into his home. She told him there were others just like her. Eventually, The victim was reunited with her friend and other young Cameroonian girls who had been enslaved.
Maryland, United States
What is known about the trafficker? Her parents could not send her to high school, so she lived with an old lady and worked for her. She was supposed to get to go to school, but that never happened. After a year, the old lady told her she knew someone who could offered her an education in US in exchange for some baby sitting work. At first her father refused, saying it was too far away, but she convinced him, insisting this was her dream come true. They told her she would need to wait till the next term to start school, but a whole year went by and they only said they were still thinking about it. Then they starting saying that just bringing her to America was enough. Later they sent her two days a week to a free class to prepare for the GED. For five years, from the time she was 13 till she was 18 years of age, she worked up to 20 hours a day, usually 5 a.m. to midnight, every day of the week without a day off. She did housework, cooking and laundry and ironing. She was not permitted to make or to receive calls. She wrote letters to her parents but never received any back. She never received any pay at all. She was told money was being sent back home to her family, which was not true. She was denied any contact with her parents, using the excuse that they were trying to get in touch with them.
Libreville, Gabon, Gabon
The Gabonese navy seized an immigrant boat flying a Ghana flag on October 18, 2009. 34 children on board were illegal passengers, including 135 from Benin, 78 from Togo, 22 from Mali and 21 from Burkina Faso. They were believed to be destined for domestic servitude in Gabon. The children were placed in a receiving home. On November 14, 34 of the Beninese children were repatriated by
Newark, New Jersey, United States
A Togolese woman accused of forcing girls from Africa to work in New Jersey hair braiding salons for no pay has been convicted of human trafficking and visa fraud. Prosecutors argued that Akouavi Kpade Afolabi, called "Sister" by the women she oversaw, helped bring at least 20 girls between the ages of 10 and 19 from the West African nations of Togo and Ghana on fraudulent visas to New Jersey starting in 2002. They said she manipulated the impoverished young women, who aspired to live better lives in America, and kept them in slavery-like conditions while stealing all their pay — even tips as meager as fifty cents. Afolabi's lawyer, Bukie Adetula, countered that his client was considered a benevolent mother figure and revered community leader — both in her native Togo and New Jersey. He said she was known for lending people money and aiding young women to escape their poverty-stricken homeland to learn a marketable skill in America. He spoke outside the Newark federal courtroom following a unanimous guilty verdict on all 22 counts, which was returned just hours after the jury began deliberations. During the month long trial, prosecutors outlined a scheme they say Afolabi and her ex-husband and son — who have pleaded guilty — used to keep the young women tightly controlled. They said the women were beaten, psychologically abused and, in some cases, sexually abused, while being kept from phoning home, contacting friends or family, or accessing their passports and other documents. Adetula said what the U.S. government called slave-like supervision was merely a West African custom of protecting young girls by making sure they were tightly supervised, especially in a foreign country where they didn't know the customs or the language. Afolabi, who alternated throughout the trial between western wear and traditional African dress, sat shackled at the ankles with her head bowed much of the time, listening through headphones to a simultaneous interpreter in Ewe, her native tongue. She wept often throughout the proceedings, especially during descriptions of her former husband's alleged sexual relations with several of the women, some of them underage. Has there been any intervention? How & by whom? The trafficker was arrested in 2007, brought to trial and found guilty in 2009, being kept in jail in the meantime. She is to be sentenced in January 2010 and faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment. More information: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,566464,00.html
Pasidena, CA, United States
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement A Mexican housekeeper claims a married couple paid coyotes to smuggle her into the United States, then held her captive for 6 years and put her to forced labor for more than 100 hours a week in their home. She seeks damages of $125,800 in back wages, and punitive damages for slavery.
Phnum Penh, Cambodia
A CAMBODIAN schoolteacher and her husband have been charged for repeatedly torturing an 11-year-old girl they bought to be their domestic helper and held captive for more than a year, a court official said on Monday. Prosecutor Heung Bunchea said Meas Neary, a high school teacher in Phnom Penh, and her husband, Va Sarouen, a retired Ministry of Education official, were charged with torture and human trafficking in Phnom Penh Municipal Court. If convicted, they could face 25 years in prison, he said. The girl's body was covered with more than 200 wounds, which were allegedly inflicted by the suspects, he said, adding: 'The couple said that they beat the girl with coat hangers, brooms, electric wires, and sometimes used pliers to pull her flesh.' The couple paid US$400 (S$557) to the girl's 62-year-old guardian in early 2008 for the girl to help with domestic chores, Mok Hong said, adding that the girl's parents were both deceased. The girl's former guardian, Thoeng Reth, was also charged with human trafficking for selling the girl to the couple.
New York City, United States
According to Washington Post, Ms. Baoanan is suing her former employers for lack of pay and 126-hour workweeks. A judge in NY has ruled that diplomatic immunity will not protect the Bajas, since the maid served in a private function and not in a diplomatic function. The case is still proceeding through the courts. www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/19/AR2009091901864.html
Malakal, southern Sudan, South Sudan
The Khartoum government of Sudan raided villages in southern Sudan and Arabs from northern Sudan enslaved southerners. The Khartoum government of Sudan repeatedly raided the villages of the Shilluk Kingdom of southern Sudan. Two of the victims friends were killed in the raids. Being a child of about six, the victim did not understand what was happening, he and four friends fled to the bush. One, a woman, was not able to keep up because she was pregnant. That night, she was killed and eaten by wild animals. After that attack, the family moved to Malakal. The government raided them again there, and he was captured and enslaved by an Arab man. The town where he was sent to serve his master was predominantly Arab, making it very difficult to escape. He claims that he and the other slaves were treated like animals.
Kingston, Canada
The charges stem from a 9-1-1 call in July, 2009 where Windsor Police Service responded to a report of two persons who were creating a disturbance outside of a residence on Sandwich Street in Windsor. The initial investigation, conducted by Windsor Police, revealed that the victim was a United States citizen. It is alleged that the victims had been brought into Canada by Mark Justice after they met in Battle Creek Michigan. The RCMP Immigration & Passport Section facilitated further responsibility for the investigation, alleging that the man was fraudulently brought into Canada by Mr. Justice, and forced to live at the Sandwich Street residence. The RCMP also determined that Mr. Justice had brought a second US citizen into Canada. Police allege that Mr. Justice brought these individuals into Canada in order to obtain all or a portion of their pensions. The RCMP also determined that two individuals employed at the residence were not legally entitled to work in Canada.
Sudan, Sudan
MALWAL KON, Sudan — 607 liberated slaves returned to their homeland of northern Bahr El Ghazal, Southern Sudan between Jan. 23 and Feb. 2, 2005.They were assembled in Northern Sudanese towns and villages and transported by truck to Southern Sudan by the Government of Sudan's Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC). They were delivered to registration centers at Gok Machar and Warawar. More information: http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=1462
Kirio, Sudan, Sudan
The victim was taken to Kirio, where he was given to an Arab man, who presented him to the entire household. They all beat him. There he was always called me 'abeed,' which means black slave, and he had to sleep with the cows and was always fed leftovers from the master's table. A couple of years after his capture, he tried to escape but was easily recaptured and beaten and tied up for 10 days, he said. Years later, he tried again and was recaptured and beaten and threatened with death. He said would rather be dead than a slave. So he tried it again and was successful, being helped by an Arab truck driver, only to be found by some local policemen, who made him serve them for seven months. He escaped and, with the help of an Egyptian, made his way to Cairo, where a United Nations body eventually helped him get to the nation of his choice: the United States. He went to Fargo, N.D.; then Iowa, and later Boston, where he joined up with Charles Jacobs, who started an abolitionist movement two years ago, the American Anti-Slavery Group. Since joining with Jacobs, a Harvard graduate, he has been speaking out on Sudanese slavery, and he is the first escaped Sudanese slave to testify before a U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. "I'm speaking for people who can't speak for themselves," he said. "I'm a witness for what is happening in the Sudan today. As a Christian community, we must do something for the suffering of my people." More information: http://www.haitiwebs.com/haitianforums/showthread.php?t=401
Charlotte, NC, United States
Mercedes Farquharson 63, of Union county, considered her self a deity. She convinced a mother she was a religiuos deity and to give her the mother's children.
Monroe, NC, United States
Mercedes Farquharson, 63, was arrested in Bulgaria in July after three years on the run. The woman was extradited to North Carolina facing multiple charges of forced labor and servitude. Farquharson kept three children under her control, forcing them to work on a farm in Monroe without breaks and sometimes with no sleep. She claimed to be a religious deity and convinced the biological mother to give her the girls. Farquharson adopted one of the children. News14 - Woman Charged with Enslaving Children Appears in Court - http://news14.com/content/local_news/charlotte/614045/woman-charged-with-enslaving-children-appears-in-court/ N&O - Woman Accused of Enslaving Girls Extradited to NC - http://www.newsobserver.com/1565/story/1669767.html
Westport, Kansas City, MO, United States
Abrorkhodja Askarkhodjaev, 30, owned and operated Giant Labor, a labor-leasing company, and controlled a dozen other businesses that filed fraudulent applications for foreign workers. Askarkhodjaev and others used false IDs to create the companies and open dozens of bank accounts for them. Abror Askarkhodjaev has pleaded not guilty to the charges and intends to proceed to trial.
New York, United States
The victim was forced to work for three monthe for a pay of only $100, passports were taken, forced to work 18 hour days 7 days a week with no time off. She was told she would have a jod as a nurse in the US. She was able to leave after three months.
Mumbai, India
the neighbors say the child and the bruises and burns and other injuries and took her to the hospital. There the doctor said her injuries were from phyiscal abuse so the neighbors called the police and the actor was arrested.
Benin, Benin
A stranger convinced the parents of a 13 year old Beninese boy that he should go to neighboring Togo for a better life. He ended up in domestic servitude working long hours every day and being regularly beaten. More information: http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Benin.htm
Conakry, Guinea, Guinea
The parents gave away a young girl, now 15, to become an unpaid domestic laborer because they felt they could not afford to keep her.
Ivory Coast, Côte d'Ivoire
The intervention was organized by Interpol centered in Adidjan. They found 50+ children ages 11-16 both male and female being used as plantation workers on cocoa farms, with some of the girls doubling as household servants in addition to their duties in the fields.
NOGALES, Ariz, United States
The driver, Luis Antonio Mendoza, 26, of Fresno, Calif. The complaint alleges Mendoza told ICE agents he knew the illegal aliens were in the trailer. He further stated he was to transport the aliens to Eloy, Ariz., were they would be transferred to a different vehicle. According to the complaint, Mendoza said he thought there were only 15 people in the trailer and he expected to be paid $300 per person for transporting them. Material witnesses say they made arrangements in Nogales, Mexico, to be smuggled into the United States and were each to pay the smugglers up to $3,000, with Phoenix being their final destination.
London, England, United Kingdom
From an article in the Independent: "A woman who claimed she was beaten and sexually assaulted by a diplomat and his royal wife, who brought her to London, has spoken of her fear of reprisals. The 23-year-old, who has been granted refugee status, is owed more than £20,000 following an employment tribunal order, but has been unable to get justice as the couple have returned home. The woman said she had been treated as little more than a slave after having been promised paid work as a nanny, a room in the couple's magnificent house and days off to enjoy London. Instead, she alleged, they violently beat her, sexually assaulted her and locked her away to work 19-hour days for no pay. The couple, whose identity is known to the IoS, cannot be named as the victim fears reprisals. She said that they had had her followed after she escaped from their home last year, and have subjected her and her family to death threats. Her tale of modern slavery is one that is all too familiar in Britain. There are more than 20,000 migrant domestic workers estimated to be in the UK. Those working for diplomats are particularly vulnerable because visa restrictions prevent them changing employer. Last year 189 visas were issued to domestic workers accompanying diplomats, and every year some of these will be subjected to abuse. Now campaigners are demanding a change in the law. Although the woman reported her allegations to police, they advised her that the couple could not be prosecuted because of their diplomatic status. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) contacted their embassy but were told that since they have returned to their home country they cannot be chased for the compensation payments ordered in January. The domestic worker was 21 when she came to Britain. "From the first night I knew something was wrong," she said. "I was made to share a room with the diplomat and he came into my bed and touched me all over. "I was so scared but I spoke no English and had no money and no phone. I was trapped. I was paid nothing, never allowed to leave the house, and only given scraps to eat. "They made me get up at six to cook, clean and care for them and their children; I didn't get to bed until one in the morning. They treated me like dirt, throwing things at me, shouting at me and hitting me ... I hand-washed all their clothes until my hands were inflamed. If I didn't do what they asked they would beat me and smash my head against the wall. Every time I asked to go home they threatened me. They said they would destroy my passport and harm my family. I was terrified because I knew they could; they have power in my country." Kalayaan, a charity dedicated to helping migrant domestic workers, says her case illustrates the terrible abuses that diplomats can get away with in this country. Jenny Moss, a community advocate for the charity, said: "To protect diplomats' domestic workers it is imperative that the UK Government give them the basic right to change employer, so they can flee abuse and access protection and justice without fear of deportation. The power that employers can wield over vulnerable individuals is akin to bonded labour and leads to human trafficking." An FCO spokesman said: "We expect foreign missions and diplomats to meet their obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, to respect the laws and regulations of the UK, including employment rules."" The above article was written by reporter Emily Dugan of the Independent in London. Link: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/diplomats-nanny-lifts-lid-on-modern-slavery-1769711.html
Fort Worth, Tx, United States
Angela Galeana de Maddox (34 years old) and her husband, Robert Doyle Maddox (55 years old), brought a 12 year old girl back from Mexico to work as a domestic servant. They bought the girl from her mother for $10 and made promises to send $50 a month. Galeana reportedly beat the girl several times. On one occasion she also tried to make the girl ingest water from a toilet. They plead guilty to charges of forced child labor. Galeana received 7 years imprisonment. Maddox received 2 years 9 months. They were also ordered to pay back wages.
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y, United States
Wealthy long Island couple who enslaved two Indonesians. Would beat them with brooms, slash them with knives and make them sleep in the kitchen on mats. actual article: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,381243,00.html
Arlington, United States
Below is a link and the text of a news article reporting the indictment: http://cbs2.com/national/slave.domestic.servitude.2.1364018.html Dec 11, 2009 7:00 am US/Pacific Texas Couple Accused Of Keeping Mother As Slave Husband, Wife Allegedly Kept Woman In Servitude 9 Years; Also Accused Of Sexual Assault FORT WORTH (CBS) ― [Click to zoom.] Click to enlarge 1 of 1 CBS Close numSlides of totalImages Related Slideshows News Year In Review 2009 Related Stories * Archaeologists Find Remains of 1841 Slave Ship (11/25/2008) * Prosecutors: Afghan Girl Kept As Slave In Seattle (10/17/2008) * Fla. Woman Gets Jail In Teen Slave Case (5/20/2008) Related Links * KTVT-TV Local Coverage A federal grand jury has formally accused an Arlington couple of keeping a widowed, Nigerian mother of six in domestic servitude, or in essence holding her as their slave. According to the Justice Department, husband and wife, Emmanuel and Ngozi Nnaji, held the woman for nine years. Officials believe the Nnajis promised the woman that she would be paid, and there would be support for her children, if she came to work for them as a domestic servant, reports CBS station KTVT-TV in Dallas. The abuse allegedly happened while the couple lived at a house in the 1500 block of Green Hill Drive, in Arlington. KTVT went there and tried to speak to a woman who came out of the house, but she had nothing to say. We're told the victim no longer lives at the house. Part of the seven-count indictment alleges that the couple used unscrupulous means to get fraudulent immigration documents, confiscated the victim's official documents, secretly kept her in their home and forced her to work long hours with no days off for little or no pay. Emmanuel Nnaji is also accused of sexually assaulting the victim and threatening the woman if she called police. Ngozi Nnaji is a Nigerian national. Click here to read the entire U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas criminal complaint against Emmanuel and Ngozi Nnaji. Officials claim the couple kept the woman isolated from the outside world and refused her requests to be returned home or be paid for her services. Along with not paying the victim, the couple also allegedly failed to provide support for the victim's children back in Nigeria. Contact with her Nigerian family was also monitored and she was prevented from attending church regularly. The couple, who have been charged with conspiracy, forced labor, document servitude, alien harboring and false statements, was arrested on September 30. Both Ngozi and Emmanuel Nnaji face up to 55 years in prison, if convicted. Since Ngozi Nnaji is not a U.S. citizen, if she is convicted she also faces deportation. KTVT spoke to Ngozi Nnaji's attorney who said his client will plead not guilty and that they plan to challenge the charges. The case is being investigated by the FBI. (© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Denver Colorado, United States
Abrorkhodja Askarkhodjaev, 30, Nodir Yunusov, 22, Rustamjon Shukurov, 21, citizens of Uzbekistan living in Mission; Ilkham Fazilov, 44, Nodirbek Abdoollayev, 27, citizens of Uzbekistan living in Kansas City; Viorel Simon, 27, Alexandru Frumasache , 23, citizens of Moldova living in Kansas City, Kan.; Kristin Dougherty, 49, of Ellisville, Mo.; Andrew Cole, 53, of St. Charles, Mo.; Abdukakhar Azizkhodjaev, 49, a citizen of Uzbekistan living in Panama City, Fla.; and Sandjar Agzamov, 27, and Jakhongir Kakhkharov, 29, citizens of Uzbekistan who recently left the United States
East Hazel Crest, Illinois, United States
Cook County Sheriff's Police Department arrested both individuals on Nov. 5, 2008.
Cusco, Peru, Peru
Of sorts.The child workers of Peru face an incredible number of dangers as they make their ways from the rural villages to the city. These children are often bought or lured from their families with promises of good jobs and education in the city. Most of these children will never see their families again and in some cases, may be too young to even remember where they came from in the first place. In this case, Janet was 7 years old when a family from Cosina Olympia recruited her to work as an unpaid domestic servant. Her family was eager to give her up in the first place as the family was prone to domestic violence issues. She was later employed in a factory stamping chocolates for no compensation and was sexually abused by the son of the owner of the factory. The most common scenario is that wealthy families from the city of Cusco or Lima will travel to remote villages to recruit children as domestic servants. These children will end up working 15-20 hours per day, often with no pay whatsoever. The promise of education is only sometimes fulfilled. The families are not above beating the children if they step out of line or become rebellious and female children are often subject to sexual abuse. Within Peruvian society, these are the invisible children.
Cusco, Peru
The child workers of Peru face an incredible number of dangers as they make their ways from the rural villages to the city. These children are often bought or lured from their families with promises of good jobs and education in the city. Most of these children will never see their families again and in some cases, may be too young to even remember where they came from in the first place. Maria, 13, is currently being exploited by her sister. She was brought to Cusco as an unpaid domestic worker at age 7, but eventually managed to leave her employer. She now lives with her sister working in a local tienda 10-12 hours per day before attending school for four hours at night. Her sister takes all of her income. The most common scenario is that wealthy families from the city of Cusco or Lima will travel to remote villages to recruit children as domestic servants. These children will end up working 15-20 hours per day, often with no pay whatsoever. The promise of education is only sometimes fulfilled. The families are not above beating the children if they step out of line or become rebellious and female children are often subject to sexual abuse. Within Peruvian society, these are the invisible children.
Cusco, Peru, Peru
The child workers of Peru face an incredible number of dangers as they make their ways from the rural villages to the city. These children are often bought or lured from their families with promises of good jobs and education in the city. Most of these children will never see their families again and in some cases, may be too young to even remember where they came from in the first place. Norca, now 14, was trafficked to Cusco to work as a domestic servant several years ago. Luckily for her, her mother came to Cusco and Norca now lives with her instead of the family that purchased her in the first place. She currently works in a restaurant where she makes 100 Soles per month, or about $33. She works 10-12 hours per day. The most common scenario is that wealthy families from the city of Cusco or Lima will travel to remote villages to recruit children as domestic servants. These children will end up working 15-20 hours per day, often with no pay whatsoever. The promise of education is only sometimes fulfilled. The families are not above beating the children if they step out of line or become rebellious and female children are often subject to sexual abuse. Within Peruvian society, these are the invisible children.
Sankhongluang Rd, Chiang Rai town, Thailand
The trafficker was the owner of a noodle restaurant in this region, specifically on Sankhongluang Rd. The situation arose when a 14 year old girl from the Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand, ventured out into the town looking for work and a place to stay – she was enticed by a “better life”. Her parents were drug addicts – that was her push factor. The restaurant owner offered her work and pay at 2000 Baht a month and board in their house. She was paid for the first two months, but then they stopped or occasionally paid her 200 Baht per month. She worked in the restaurant until closing and then was forced to do domestic chores around the house. She was not allowed out. The owner had taken her citizenship papers and so she was scared to report the exploitation. She threatened to leave, which the owner responded to by threatening her life and the lives of her family – he apparently pointed a gun at her. Eventually the girl escaped, finding a family member. She contacted Mirror Foundation and is now safe.
Portland, OR (Multnomah County), United States
The victim was trafficked from Guatemala to Mexico to the United States by her own half-sister. She worked for her in her home and also for a food processing plant called Fresh Del Monte Produce. She was 17.
York, PA area, United States
Beginning in 2000 until August 2008, Lynda Dieu Phan, Duc Cao Nguyen, and Justin Phan conspired for Lynda Dieu Phan to travel to Vietnam to recruit victims to work in her nail salons located in the York, PA, area. The group arranged fraudulent marriages for the victims so they could gain entry into the United States. The victims were told that they could earn off their debt for being brought to America in 3 years. However, once in the country, the victims were forced to work at Lynda Dieu Phan’s nail salons and as domestic servants in her home. The victims reportedly worked long hours, often 7 days a week, for no pay. They were also said to have worked under emotionally demoralizing circumstances. One of the victims became acquainted with a customer through the nail salon, and it was through this customer that one victim was able to escape. The victim fled from Lynda’s home at 1:30am on June 1, 2008. The other victims were not emancipated until August 2008.
Gayaza, Uganda, Uganda
Every Child Ministries' workers were visiting homes of a nearby area, looking for children in desperate conditions so as to seek sponsors for them to enable them to go to school and to give them a better quality life. While doing so, they heard about the terrible condition of this boy who was being treated as a slave in a nearby village. The workers visited the family and verified the story. Through a cooperative effort with local law enforcement, they were able to find a home for the boy with another relative.
Guinea, Guinea
After her mother and brother died, the victim's father gave her away at age 8 to work as a domestic servant. She did housework for 18 hours a day, but she was never paid. She slept on the verandah and ate leftovers. Sometimes, she was denied food altogether. She was beaten frequently, particularly when she tried to rest. When his wife left the house, the male guardian raped her. She was not allowed to leave, but even if she was, she wouldn’t know where to go. She didn’t know if her father was still alive.
Algona, Washington, United States
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 5 South King County residents on federal charges for conspiring to enslave a 16 year-old Afghan immigrant girl. Those arrested were: Mohammed Atahee, 37 Nasima Yousufi, 70 Mohammad Yousufi, 84 Nahid Yousufi, 29 Maruf Yousufi, 42 The teen was forced to cook, clean, and do laundry for Atahee and the Yousufis, a federal grand jury indictment says. During the same period, the Yousufis required her to perform all the household chores and care for their children at 28004 33rd Ave. S., Auburn. Nahid Yousufi threatened the girl, called "JVI" in court documents, with arrest and deportation if she failed to live with Atahee or work for the Yousufis. On January 26, 2008, Atahee raped the girl, court documents say. Prosecutors accuse Nasima Yousifi and Nahid Yousifi of causing a marriage to take place between the girl - then 13 in Afghanistan and Atahee, then 33, in the summer of 2005. Because the marriage was not recognized by U.S. authorities, Nasima Yousufi allegedly told U.S. Embassy officials in Pakistan that the girl was the biological daughter of Nasima - then 66 years old - in order to obtain a visa for her. If found guilty, the defendants face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Logan Heights, San Diego, United States
Gloria Eugenia Leon-Aldana was a part of an alien smuggling operation recruiting aliens from Mexico, smuggling aliens into the United States to San Diego, and forcing labor through a series of threats including calls to Border Patrol. Her co-defendants Andres-Santos and Alonso-Terrero also threatened with physical harm to the victims and their families. Her husband, Mario Antonio Antunez Sotelo is wanted on forced-labor charges in addition to bringing in and harboring aliens for financial gain. He was arrested in December with his wife, and two others. The others are in custody, but Antunez, who was released after his arrest, is now believed to be on the run, possibly hiding in Tijuana or in the Acapulco area. Among other things, Antunez and his wife are accused of holding at least 10 immigrants in two San Diego homes. Federal agents searching one of those properties found a small bedroom crammed with six beds, and living quarters for others carved into a crawl space beneath the home with mattresses on a dirt floor. Aliens held in those homes were repeatedly threatened and the couple took their identity documents to keep them from fleeing. They were also forced to pay rent, which kept them under debt bondage. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which learned of the case through the local Mexican consulate, is working with the Mexican government in the search. Immigration and Customs spokeswoman Lauren Mack said some victims were held as long as eight months.
Tennis Lane, Tracy, CA, United States
Michael Luther Schumacher, 34, Kelly Layne Lau, 30, and Caren Ramirez, 43, all were arrested during the first two days of December, 2008 for suspicion of conspiracy, torture, kidnapping, child abuse, and false imprisonment. They held a teenage boy (name not yet disclosed due to the fact that he is a minor) shackled and chained in their garage, and forced him to do domestic labor, for up to 18 months (exact length of time to be determined). Schumacher and Lau are married and have 4 children of their own under the age of 10 (1 year, 3, 7, 9). There was no legal relationship between the married couple and the enslaved boy, Ramirez won custody for the boy in Sacramento Count prior to his imprisonment, but lost custody after she was arrested on charges of felony abuse in 2005. Neighbors of Schumacher and Lau said they say Ramirez at the couple's Tracy home regularly, and some neighbors said they were told that Ramirez was the boy's mother. The boy ran away from a Sacramento group home 15-18 months prior to his emancipation from the Tracy couple. Neighbors saw him doing yard work and other domestic chores. The boy apparently was chained in the garage of the Tracy house when he was not working or otherwise being closely watched.
Walnut Creek, California, United States
Mabelle de la Rosa Dann, also known as Mabelle Crabbe, held 30-year old Zoraida Pena-Canal in captivity for nearly 19 months in apartment #64 of the Cypress Creek Apartments in Walnut Creek, California. Pena-Canal once worked in Peru with Dann's sister, who lives there. Dann, who works as a real estate agent in Walnut Creek, promised Pena-Canal a job caring for her three children as a nanny in the USA that would pay $600/mo and a private residence. Instead, Pena-Canal worked around the clock cleaning Dann's apartment, doing laundry, cooking meals and tending to Dann's three boys. Pena-Canal initially slept on the living room sofa in Dann's apartment, then subsequently was banished to sleep on the living room floor. Instead of paying her nanny/house keeper, Dann charged her $15,000 for living expenses, which she kept in her debt. Pena-Canal Dann forced her to smash her radio and TV so that she would not listen to Spanish-speaking radio and get information about the USA that might help her. Dann regularly abused her servant verbally and physically, and took away her identity documents, money and bank cards. She threatened to turn Pena-Canal over to the police if she tried to escape. Dann paid a third-party agent to secure a visitor visa for her victim, though she always intended for Pena-Canal to work in her home.
Lakeland North, Washington, United States
In the summer of 2005, Mohammad Atahee (then age 33) married a 13 year-old girl in Afghanistan and then brought her back to the US and coerced her into being a slave at homes in Federal Way and Auburn. Atahee is also accused in court documents of beating and sexually assaulting the girl at his Federal Way home. Atahee (now 37) and the Yousuf family (Nasima Yousuf, 70; Mohammad Yousuf, 84; Nahid Yousufi, 29; and Maruf Yousufi, 42) forced the teen to cook, clean and do laundry. For about 18 months beginning in August 2006, Atahee required the girl to "perform all the household chores in his home and restricted activities outside of the home" at 2511 S. 286th Place, Federal Way, WA. During the same period the Yousufis required her to perform all the household chores and care for their children at 28004 33rd Ave. S., Auburn, WA.
Federal Way, Washington, United States
In the summer of 2005, Mohammad Atahee (then age 33) married a 13 year-old girl in Afghanistan and then brought her back to the US and coerced her into being a slave at homes in Federal Way and Auburn. Atahee is also accused in court documents of beating and sexually assaulting the girl at his Federal Way home. Atahee (now 37) and the Yousuf family (Nasima Yousuf, 70; Mohammad Yousuf, 84; Nahid Yousufi, 29; and Maruf Yousufi, 42) forced the teen to cook, clean and do laundry. For about 18 months beginning in August 2006, Atahee required the girl to "perform all the household chores in his home and restricted activities outside of the home" at 2511 S. 286th Place, Federal Way, WA. During the same period the Yousufis required her to perform all the household chores and care for their children at 28004 33rd Ave. S., Auburn, WA.
Lents, Oregon, United States
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A Portland couple who offered to care for a developmentally delayed pair stand accused of defrauding them of more than $50,000 in pension and Social Security payments and physically abusing them for years. Police say Charles and Tammy Whitworth were virtual indentured servants and endured nearly three years of financial, psychological and physical abuse including strangulation, assaults, and dog bites. The Whitworths are back home in Missouri thanks in part to an alert Plaid Pantry clerk and collaboration of city and county investigators. Plaid Pantry clerk John Parmer, 21, noticed a distraught woman with long gray hair using a pay phone in July. "She had been crying," Parmer recalled. "I was keeping my eye on her." The next morning she was back, crying again on the phone. She walked into the store and through her tears asked him to call 9-1-1. He did. Responding officers called the bureau's elder abuse investigators. A two-month investigation led to the arrests this week of Daniel Lee Anderson, 50, and Taryn Marie Anderson, 51, on an 84-count criminal indictment. Even the experienced investigators had trouble grasping what went on in the southeast Portland ranch-style house where the Whitworths lived with the Andersons. They said Tammy Whitworth, 50, was hysterical but that they were able to talk to the distraught couple alone. Investigators describe them as vulnerable, low-functioning adults. Charles Whitworth worked for 33 years for Chrysler in St. Louis, Mo., but doesn't read or write. Police said his wife, Tammy, was socially isolated. Police say the couples met in Missouri in 2006. The Whitworths were living in a house on their own when the Andersons offered to care for them. The couples left town about six months later. "They just up and moved in the middle of the night," recalled Tammy's mother, Barbara Ross, in a phone interview from Missouri. "They went from owning their own house, a car and a truck, down to nothing." Relatives knew they were in Oregon but didn't know where and hired an investigator to find them, but without success. "At some point (the Whitworths) were told their families didn't want anything to do with them, said Detective Celeste Fender. "They basically said, `We're all you've got.' " Charles Whitworth, 62, was to walk the dogs, pull weeds and clean the house. Tammy was supposed to clean the kitchen. Basically, they were their maids, Fender said. Fender and Officer Katie Potter worked with county adult protective services investigator Sheila Robinson. Not only are the Andersons accused of funneling Charles Whitworth's assets into their own bank accounts, but police and prosecutors say the Andersons would slap the Whitworths in the head, knock them into walls or sic their three daschunds on the couple. Daniel Anderson is accused of trying to strangle the couple. The Andersons would force Charles to bite his wife, Fender said. Ross said she received a collect call on July 30 from her daughter, Tammy. She was crying into the phone. Ross said she encouraged her to contact police. "Thank goodness she called her mom. She was brave enough to take that step," Fender said. Police say the Andersons had Charles Whitworth believing his mother died but investigators found his mother alive and phoned her so he could speak to her. He cried at the sound of his mom's voice. The Andersons told police they didn't know where the Whitworths' money went. When Fender asked why he had taken in a couple with no resources, she said he replied, "Well, Christians are known to do that." Similar cases often go unreported because victims are kept in isolation, Robinson said. Though Dr. Bennett Blum, an Arizona-based forensic and geriatric psychiatrist who specializes in what he calls undue influence cases, said they are tragically frequent. He said this case has all the hallmarks: vulnerable adult abuse, isolation, dependency, emotional manipulation and deception. Daniel Anderson faces 31 counts of criminal mistreatment, 22 counts of theft, three counts of strangulation, seven counts of assault, seven counts of harassment and four counts of coercion. His wife faces 26 counts of criminal mistreatment, 22 counts of theft, three counts of assault, two counts of criminal mischief, and two counts of harassment and coercion. Both pleaded not guilty on Monday. The Andersons lawyer, Bill Brennan, said the Whitworths money appeared to be pooled with the Andersons' accounts to help pay expenses. The county helped place the Whitworths in foster care and worked with Missouri officials to reroute their checks directly to them. This month the Whitworths flew back to Missouri. They're living with Tammy's mom but plan to get their own place. "The Andersons need to be in prison," Ross said. "They're evil, evil." Daniel Anderson is a local trucker who declared bankruptcy in 1998 and was convicted of passing bad checks in Missouri in 2006. Their trial date is Nov. 12.(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Lakewood, Washington, United States
Abdenasser Ennassime, also known as Sammy, and his wife Tonya Ennassime brought their niece, Lamyaá, from Morocco to come stay with them when she was 12-years old (in September 2001). They arranged that Lamyaá would help care for the couple’s son and help with the housework, in exchange for lodging and the opportunity for good education. Instead, Lamyaá made breakfast and dinner, did the laundry, cleaned the house, and worked weekends and summers at the family espresso stand without pay. The espresso stand is called Lake City Perk. In March 2004, Sammy read Lamyaá’s diary, in which she complained about being mistreated. He then hit her, and withdrew her from school. After the incident, she was forced to work longer hours at the espresso stand, 12-14 hours at a time, and he took all her tips, which totaled about $5,000. He threatened to report her for being in the country illegally. Lamyaá was never given a house key, and her uncle took her documents and identification.
Brookline, MA, United States
Tahira Juma, a Boston University School of Public Health graduate student, and her husband Saleem Al-Khaboriof, an engineer, faced a federal lawsuit for "engaging in human trafficking and modern day slavery" in 2004. The couple came to Boston in January 2003, from their native country of Oman so that Juma could study at Boston University, according to the suit. Naseem Mohamed Siraj, who had been a member of the couple's household staff in Oman, alleged that the couple threatened to abandon her in Oman with no money to return to her family in India, where she has three children, if she didn't come with them to Boston. In Boston, Siraj was forced to care around-the-clock for four children ages 4-10 and was paid sporadic amounts totaling about $1,250 for 15 months. She had no bed and was fed only the children's leftovers, according to the suit. She was never allowed to leave the home alone and endured "a constant barrage of verbal taunts, abusive language and disobedient behavior from the children," the suit claims. When she vowed to leave, her employers "intimidated Mrs. Siraj by telling her that if she left, she would be arrested and thrown in jail."
Germantown, Maryland, United States
George Udeozor brought the victim from Nigeria to the U.S. in 1996, when she was 14 years old. The victim was forced to care for Udeozor’s children and perform household chores until October 2001. The victim was physically and sexually assaulted while living in the Udeozor home, and was not allowed to attend school. She was brought to the U.S. on a passport that was not her own, and her family had been promised that she would be paid for her work, and allowed to attend school. She was threatened by Udeozor and his wife, and told that is she resisted she would be sent back to Nigeria.
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Mariska Trisanti and her husband Herri Nasution recruited two women from Indonesia to come to Los Angeles to work in their home. Trisanti brought the victims to the US in 1997, on a tourist visa under the agreement that they would work for two years as nannies and housekeepers in her home. After arrival, Trisanti took their passports and other documents. The victims were forced to work seven days a week, for 17 hours or more each day. They were threatened with physical abuse and told they would be sent to jail if they did not work. The victims were not paid for their work.
Minneapolis, United States
A Somali family not related to the young girl. Instead they came to her village and approached her parents and asked if they could take the girl, their daughter, to America with them. The young girl's parents agreed. The family brought her to the U.S using a different name and reporting that the girl was their daughter. When the girl arrived to this country, the new family wanted her to do all the housework, baby-sit their other children and completely serve them. The family was also abusive to the young girl. When the young girl refused to cooperate, the family contacted the child protection authorities and reported that they could not keep the child. The young girl was taken by the child protection authorities and was raised in the foster system.
Silver Spring, Md., United States
In November 1996, Theresa Mubang used a fake passport to bring Evelyn Chumbow (then 11 years old) from Cameroon to the U.S. Mubang told the victim’s family the girl would have a better life and educational opportunities in the U.S. Mubang did not allow the victim to communicate with her family, and forced her to work as a cook and maid in her home. Chumbow was also forced to care for Mubang’s children as well as a neighbor’s child, and slept on the floor. The victim was not allowed to attend school, or to leave the home except for designated tasks. She was mentally, verbally, and physically abused. After investigation, ICE officials found that Mubang also brought another young girl from Cameroon to the U.S. prior to Chumbow. Her name was Cecilia Nkolo. Mubang sent her back to Cameroon after the victim repeatedly called the police and Maryland Child Welfare Services reporting her situation.
Nairobi, Kenya, Kenya
Kaneza Joseline (not her real name) recounts how her ordeal started. She was serving lunch in a busy Kigali restaurant where she was employed, when some regular customers, a Kenyan man and woman, approached her about taking a better job in Kenya. In her broken Swahili she indulged in a conversation that would redirect her path over the next few weeks. They promised her $100 USD per month to work fewer hours as a chef in an undisclosed restaurant that they purportedly ran in Kenya. After encouragement from her friends, Kaneza arrived in Nairobi to be welcomed by an unknown woman who had been given all of her information. She was immediately taken to a residential home, given work to wash their dogs, prepare children to go to school, cook for them, wash their cloths and other chores. All of which was the complete opposite of the job description originally reported to her by the couple in the Kigali restaurant. The owners started inquiring about her family and hurling insults towards her ethnic identity. Kaneza called her friends in Kigali regularly, hoping that as soon as she had been paid the $100 USD she would find her way home soon. After several weeks Kaneza was informed that she would be sent up country to an undisclosed location where her “work would begin”. In her efforts to resist, she was beaten, tied up with rope, and repeatedly spat upon. What had began, as a promising new career opportunity had become enslavement. Kaneza feared for her life.
The Woodlands, Texas, United States
Couple from Nigeria purchased the victim when she was 16 years old from her family in Nigeria promising a better life and education. She was forced to be a domestic slave and work outside the home to repay her debt bondage. There were incidents of violence against her and threats of violence against her siblings if she contacted authorities.
Woodstock, GA, United States
Malika Garrett (wife) Russell Garrett (husband) D. William Garrett (father-in-law) Russell is a Forsyth County Deputy Sheriff and William is a Fulton County Magistrate County Judge of Alpharetta, GA. All three reside in Woodstock and all three were responsible for encouraging a female Indian to enter the US and serve as a nanny to Malika and Russell's children. They eventually quit paying her and restricted her from leaving their home. The woman worked up to 16 hours a day. As a means to prevent the woman from leaving and to scare her from leaving, the couple threatened her with jail and deportation and also threatened to spread lies about her character to her family back home in India. After the victim escaped, the couple conspired to spread rumors about the woman through out the community, accused her of theft, reported her illegal status to the authorities and accused her of engaging in terrorist activities.
Minneapolis, United States
An elder woman in the community where the victim lived. The trafficker offered to let the teenage victim live in her home while the victim was having family problems. The victim accepted and moved in. For over two years the victim was locked in the home and was not allowed to leave. The trafficker was abusive and threatening and forced the young woman to care for the trafficker's children. The trafficker also forced the young woman to sell Khat. The trafficker stole the victim's identity and used it to collect government benefits for herself. After the young woman had escaped the trafficker continued to harass and threaten the victim.
Brookfield, WI, United States
Jefferson Calimlim Sr. and his wife Elnora, doctors in Milwaukee, recruited and brought the victim from the Philippines to the U.S. in 1985 when she was 19 years old. The victim was not allowed to go outside of the couple's home, communicate or socialize, and had to hide in the basement whenever non-family members were at the house. The victim was told she would be arrested and deported is she was found. The couple told the victim that her wages would be kept in an account, however she had no idea where the account was and could not access it.
Hidalgo County, Texas, United States
In 2004, Juan and Ellilian Ramos paid $250 for Guatemalan cousins Maria de Jesus Batres and Floridalma Sales Flores to come to the U.S. work as maids or cooks and send money back to their families. Ramos told the victims that after they had paid off their $250 debt, they would be paid $125 a week. The victims were given insufficient food and water, few breaks from work, and basically no pay. The women worked up to 21-hour days, either in the Ramos' home or an adult daycare center run by Ramos' sister, where they persuaded elderly men to live in the facility. The victims faced sexual harassment, battery, emotional, and physical abuse. They were threatened by the traffickers with threats to report the women to immigration authorities or the police.
Farmington Hills, MI, United States
Joseph and Evelyn Djoumessi brought the victim, a 14-year old girl from Cameroon, to the U.S. in October 1996 to work against her will as a domestic servant in their home. The victim took care of the couple's children, cleaned the home, and was beaten in make sure she performed her duties. Joseph also sexually abused the victim. The victim worked for the couple until February 2000.
Sugar Land, Texas, United States
Sugar Land woman Rozina Ali trafficked a 32-year old Indonesian woman to work in her home. The victim began to work for Ali in Malaysia through an Indonesian employment agency in 2002. After two weeks, Ali brought the woman to the U.S. After saying she wanted to return to Malaysia, Ali took the victim's passport and visa. The victim was forced to work 18 hours a day or longer, cleaning, cooking, and doing yard work in Ali's home and for her relatives. When the victim's work was not satisfactory, she was beaten. She was paid a total of $420.
Irvine, CA, United States
Abdel Nasser Youssef Ibrahim and his ex-wife, Amal Ahmed Ewis-abd El Motelib were charged with forcing a 10-year-old girl to work as a domestic servant in their house in Irvine. The victim first began to work for the couple in 1999, while they still lived in Egypt. Following their move to the US in 2000, the couple arranged with her parents for the girl to be brought as well to work as a nanny and housekeeper. She was forced to work 16 hours a day as a domestic servant, helping the couple`s children get ready for school, preparing and serving food, cleaning, and doing laundry and yard work. Her passport was taken, and she was not paid for the 20 months she worked for the family. The victim was physically and verbally abused, and told she would be arrested if the police caught her outside the family's home.
Aurora, CO, United States
Sarah Khonaizan and Homaidan Al-Turki brought the victim from Indonesia to cook, clean, and care for the couple's children in their home, and paid her less than $2 for her work. Al-Turki also sexually assaulted the victim. She was forced to sleep on a mattress in the basement. The victim worked seven days a week from 2000 to 2004. Al-Turki told her she would be arrested by immigration officials if she tried to leave the home. The victim was recruited to work for Khonaizan through an employment agency in Saudi Arabia in 1999. Khonaizan and her children left Saudi Arabia three months later, leaving the victim to work in relatives' homes for the next, until she joined the family again in Colorado.
Culver City, CA, United States
In 2001, Elizabeth Jackson arranged to have Nena Ruiz (of the Philippines) brought to the U.S. to work as traveling companion and caretaker for Jackson's mother. After arrival, Ruiz lived with Jackson and her husband James. Jackson then confiscated the victim's passport, and used intimidation and threats of deportation to keep her from leaving. The victim was forced to work 16-18-hour days while being paid less than $400 a year. The victim, Nena Ruiz, was also forced to sleep on a dog bed in the family's living room. Elizabeth also hit the pulled the victim's hair, and hit her.
Central Islip, NY, United States
Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, and his wife, Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 45, were each convicted of all charges in a 12-count federal indictment that included forced labor, conspiracy, involuntary servitude, and harboring aliens. They were keeping two housekeeper in their house and paying them only $100-150 a month, all of which was sent back to their families. The women were forced to work 18 hours a day and were subjected to horrible abuses as "punishments" for actions like sleeping late or stealing food from the trash because they were underfed.
Muttontown Knolls NY, United States
Dunkin' Donuts employees in Syosset notified the police of a middle aged women who was present and wearing only pants and a towel and had a beaten in face. Immigration officials searched the house and found another housekeeper hiding in a closet. The two slaves confessed to being tortured, beaten, and starved. They were also beaten with brooms and umbrellas, cut with knives and forced to climb stairs and to take freezing cold showers for misdeeds like oversleeping or stealing food from the trash since they were not fed well.
Central Islip, New York, United States
Enung and Samirah were the 2 domestic workers. On May 13, 2007, the police were called to a Dunkin’ Donuts in Syosset, N.Y., where one of the domestic workers had turned up. Her face was bruised and she wore only pants and a towel. When the Dunkin’ Donuts employees tried to talk to the 51-year-old woman, identified as Samirah — like many Indonesians, she uses only one name — she made gestures of hitting herself and uttered what sounded to them like the word “master.”
Tower Place, Pewaukee, WI‎, United States
Traffickers were married (one male and one female), who both were affluent medical doctors in Milwaukee, WI with a multimillion dollar home in Brookfield, WI. They recruited the victim from the Philippines to the U.S. when the victim was 19 years old. Both perpetrators used threats of serious harm and physical restraint against her to obtain her services.
Paducah, KY, United States
On July 20,2006 a jury found that the defendants willfully violated the Fair Labor Standards Act....BUT did not find that the defendants held the victim in forced labor, trafficked her into forced labor, or inflicted emotional distress upon her. The victim was award money on the violation of the fair labor standards act and received a portion of money for her attorney fees.
Fort Thomas, KY, United States
Paula Steltenkamp and Greg Coburn brought over a girl from the Philippines and forced her to work for them. The victim states they didn't abide by the contract she signed, which stated she would work for 40 hours a week for $200. The Victim states she wasn't paid the agreed amount, she was physically assaulted, denied access to a phone, isolated, and threatened with deportation.
Jefferson, Virginia, United States
Soripada Lubis, 54, a naturalized American citizen originally from Indonesia, pleaded guilty to harboring illegal aliens for commercial advantage and private financial gain. Lubis admitted that he harbored between six and 24 aliens and that he was a leader and organizer of his enterprise. Lubis’ wife, Siti Chadidjah Siregar, a citizen of Indonesia, pleaded guilty to aiding her husband to keeping at least 15 women in there basement on weekends. Lubis and Siregar have kept up to 11 undocumented Indonesian women in their crowded basement to live with and work as housekeepers for wealthy families in Potomac, Md. Some of the women slept three to a bed. Lubis imposed various rules on the Indonesian women that restrained their freedom of movement and him and his wife confiscated the womens’ passports and threatened to kill their families and alert immigration officials if they left. Lubis and Siregar charged the women $375 per month for "rent" and transportation, plus fees for "taxes" and to send money to Indonesia. During the last five years, Lubis and Siregar made more than $90,000 from their enterprise. Lubis, or an unnamed relative, would drive the women to households in places like Potomac, where they worked and lived during the week, the statement said. Investigators say some of the women had come to the United States legally, but fell into Lubis’ clutches after they overstayed their visas, or were persuaded by his offers of financial rewards to leave their original employers and violate their visas. Lubis recruited them after meeting them at parks or malls.
Winchester, MA, United States
Hana Al. Jader, a 40 year old Saudi Princess, was caught withholding pay from two Indonesian women who worked for her as in-house servants. It is probable that these women worked for royal family in Saudi Arabia before they were brought Winchester in 2003. In 2003, she tried to extend their visas by sending in false employment documentation to the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. The women had being cooking and cleaning for the royals as well as caring for the severely disabled prince and serving at their frequent parties.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia
The employers were charged with negligence for not providing Nour with proper medical care, assault and mistreatment. The male employer's charges were dropped due to lack of evidence. The female employer admitted to beating Nour and was sentenced to 35 lashes. That sentence was later overturned. Nour was awarded the equivalent of $668USD in damages. Nour was also charged with falsely accusing her employers (after changing her story when being interviewed by the police without legal counsel or an advocate). Nour spent a few days in jail and was sentenced to 79 lashes. That sentence was later overturned.
Jennings, Florida, United States
Victim’s cousin with the help of 2 detectives from the Florida human trafficking unit contacted Ponce-Moya and set up a place in Lee County for a financial quid pro quo to occur. FBI agents traced phone calls back to the trailer where victim was being held and monitored Ponce-Moya. After several phone calls Ponce-Moya agreed to meet the victims cousin to exchange the victim for 2,600 dollars in cash. FBI agents followed Ponce-Moya from his trailer and he was apprehended at a convenience store south of Jennings. He had the victim and 4 family members in his car.
Assahoun, Togo, Ghana
A Togolese father sent his three year old daughter to work in Lome as a domestic servant and street vendor. She came from a broken family with a history of violence. The father left her with a woman in the northern suburbs. The young girl had to begin early to do the morning chores, and go out to sell produce on the street without eating breakfast. She ate only leftovers from the family's meals. The father visited occasionally to receive the four dollars a month the child was paid. As time went on the child was beaten more and more frequently. One day she set her produce down on the street and began to look for the way home. A kindly woman saw her crying on the street corner and connected her with an NGO who helped her. But upon returning home, she was beaten and abused by the family. The NGO was able to intervene and have a caring grandfather declared her legal guardian.
Togo, Togo
The victim was a girl who had completed primary school but was unable to go on to attend middle school because of lack of finances. A family friend presented them with the idea that she go to work in Lome. He said he knew someone who was looking for help in their boutique. The victim traveled to Lome with the friend, and the girl was introduced very briefly to her knew employer in Agbelapedo, a busy transit hub. The employer offered her the equivalent of $6 a month to care for her four children and the house and make tea to sell in the boutique, then help out there. However, she found that she was subjected to both verbal and physical abuse as well as food deprivation. She was fed only scraps, but often there was nothing left. In one instance, she was accused of stealing money and was severely beaten. It was eventually found in the son's pocket.
Central Region, Togo, Togo
The victim's father was approached by a woman who offered the daughter a job caring for a child for a family in Lome. She did not mention payment, but the father agreed anyway, sending the daughter with the woman in a taxi to the city. For four months she lived and worked in a house in Lome cleaning, washing, and selling juice on the street in addition to watching the child. If she did not sell enough juice or did not finish all her housework, she was beaten with a stick or locked out of the house to sleep outside. She escaped that house and met some children on the street who spoke her language. They took her a woman who said she needed help selling her rice. The victim agreed, but after four days realized she was being abused there, too. She told her employer she wanted to leave and was brought to the police station. They informed a local NGO and arranged for her to go to the Oasis Center at Lome. After 7 days at the center, her father found her there and took her back home to Aouda.
Tchamba, Togo, Togo
A local "waga" or trafficker of children from her home area contacted the victim whose family she knew to be poor offering her a job in Nigeria. The victim, hoping for the best, did not inquire as to what kind of job she would receive or the conditions of work. The young girl was handed to an intermediary who accompanied the victim and other girls by bus on a winding three-day trip over back roads to Agegai, Nigeria. All along the way they picked up other victims. The victims had no money to pay for their trip, so agreed to work for six months to pay off the cost of their voyage. They had nothing to eat along the way. Meanwhile, the family at home was frantically searching for their daughter. In Agegai, Nigeria, 15 girls from Togo and Benin lived and worked in a filthy kitchen where they prepared food to sell on the streets to local workers. They had quotas to sell and were forced to prostitute themselves if they did not meet the quotas. The victim began to suffer from dysentery and suspected she was pregnant. Then the supervisor threw a knife at her and cut her wrist deeply. She escaped, but alone on the streets she fell victim to another man who held her as a virtual prisoner for three months. Desperate, the victim stole some money and fled to the road station, where she begged a driver to take her home. She arrived home six months' pregnant, penniless, sick, and owing the driver for the trip. She was not welcomed by her family. The grandparents finally tok her in.
aurora, United States
Homaidan Al-Turki, 36, and his wife, Sarah Khonaizan, 35, are now in jail in Arapahoe County, facing both federal and state charges that they kept an Indonesian woman in her early 20s as a virtual slave for four years
Khartoum, Sudan, Sudan
Brad Phillips of Persecution Project Foundation says that since the 1980s, the Muslim National Islamic Front government has sanctioned the taking of Christians and animists from the south part of the nation to be sold to Muslims as slaves in the north. The two sides have been engaged in a civil war for several years. In this human trafficking case, the victim was a Sudanese Dinka boy was sold into slavery at age 7 in 1987. His Arab master officially gave him an Arab name, but always referred to him only as “abid”, meaning “black slave.” He served his master for ten years, and was often beaten, tortured and abused. His master considered all blacks, and especially Christians, as lower than animals. The victim was raised Christian and desired to worship God, but his master told him every day that he had no business worshipping, since he was of no more value than a donkey. One Sunday, the victim heard singing coming from a Christian church and was drawn to join in. While he was in worship, some of the camels that he had been charged with escaped. His master flew into a rage and swore to kill him in the same way that Jesus was killed. He beat the victim severely from head to toe, then laid him on a plank and nailed him there, driving spikes through his hands, knees, and feet. He then poured acid on his legs and left him for dead. The victim lay on the plank for seven days, but the master’s son showed him kindness by secretly bringing him food and water and eventually took him to a medical facility. The victim eventually returned to his master, but he saw little value in the now-crippled boy.
southern Sudan, South Sudan
The victim’s village in southern Sudan was attacked by an Arab militia. They killed all the men, stole all the animals, and captured all the women and children. After walking for a full day, the ten year old female victim was sold or given to a man named Bak as his slave. She did Bak’s housework and cared for his animals. She was never allowed to play. If she got tired, she was beaten and called “black slave.” When she was 20, her master raped her. The next morning, she hopped on a truck without the driver’s knowledge and escaped. She ended up in the next town, but was afraid she would be sent back into slavery since she stood out as different from everyone around. Finally she saw a black man and confessed to him that she had run away from slavery. He bought her a bus ticket to Khartoum. Not realizing where she was, she looked for her family, but did not find them. Constantly afraid of being sent back into slavery, she married the brother of a man she knew. Two years later, the couple escaped to the United States.
Miami, FL, United States
In 1999, Maude and Saintfort Paulin arranged for the 14-year old victim to come to Miami from Haiti to work in their home. From 1999 to June 2005, Maude Paulin, along with her mother Evelyn Theodore, forced the victim to work as a domestic servant in their home, cleaning, cooking, and doing yard work. The victim worked up to 15 hours a day, seven days a week. She was forced to work through psychological and physical force, and with threats of jail and deportation back to Haiti if she refused to work. She was not paid.
London, England, United Kingdom
Arab slave traders raided and destroyed the village of a 12-year old girl in the Nuba mountains of Sudan. She was repeatedly raped, then sold into slavery as a domestic servant in Khartoum. Eventually she was sold to an Arab family in London. She was never paid and was emotionally abused. More information: "Slave" (the book) by Mende Nazer and Damien Lewis, Virago Press, Great Britain, 2004, 2008.
Irvine, CA, United States
Abdelnasser Eid Youssef Ibrahim and his ex-wife, Amal Ahmed Ewis-abd Motelib decided to move with their five children to the United States to start an import-export business. The couple had bought the victim two years before moving to the United States, and brought the victim to California under an illegally obtained six-month visitor’s visa at the age of 10.
Weipa, Queensland, Australia, Australia
There was conviction of: Possessing a Slave Exercising ownership over a Slave Arranging a Marriage for Visa Purposes Rape and Sexual Assault (see www.law.uq.edu.au/humantrafficking)
Los Angeles, CA, United States
On April 16, 2001 Alamin was sentenced to 11 years in prison and three years probation for holding the victim against her will and five years of forced labor. Akhter was sentenced in May of the same year to one year in prison and three years supervised release. The couple was also ordered to pay $126,000 in restitution to the victim.
Miami Lakes, Miami, FL, United States
At first they were not helpful in the process of freeing Little Hope and pressing charges agianst the traffickers. Later one they becam very involved and particapated in the arrests and convictions of the traffickers.
Richmond, Virginia, United States
In one particular case, intervention occurred by the way of a rescuer taking the initiative to look into a suspicious working situation in a local family's home.
Wedweil, Sudan, South Sudan
Mary was a mother of three married to Michael Nyong Akal in Aweil town. The family fled to Marin after a series of attacks. When the train came to Wedweil, soldiers disembarked and took Mary and threw her to the ground and beat her. She nearly had a miscarriage but managed to retain the baby. She was forcemarched to Matarik where she was given to a man named Mahmoud Abdullah. Abdullah's two wives, Kadija and Asha. Mary was forced to do housework. If she refused or did not like her job, Abdullah beat her. That above information comes from the book ("To Plead Our Own Cause) by Kevin Bales and Zoe Trodd. The book is available from Cornell University Press.
An apartment on Post Gate Terrace in Aspen Hill, Maryland, United States
On November 29, 1999 Satia and Nanji were arrested. Their arrest led to the arrest of Satia's sister, Vivian Satia, and her husband, Etiondem Daniel Achamorfaw. Vivian and her husband admitted to not only helping to lure R.O. into the United States, but bringing another Cameroonian girl, Christina Elangwe into the U.S. as their own domestic servant. In December 2001, Louisa Satia and Kevin Nanji were convicted of holding the victim in involuntary servitude, conspiracy to bring an illegal immigrant into the United States, and haboring the victim for their personal finanical gain. Satia was also convicted of passport and marriage fraud after documents revealed her involvement with arranging marriages for American men and Cameroonian women and producing fraudulent passports. Both Satia and Nanji were sentenced nine years in prison and ordered to pay their victim $105,306, an approximated sum of what the couple owed the victim if she had been paid about $12 an hour. The case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. Department of State. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mythili Raman and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Seth Rosenthal.
Quincy, MA, United States
Talal and Abair Alzanki (30 and 21 at time of incident). Talal Alzanki was a student at Boston University from Kuwait and came to the US with his wife Abair and their child. They employed a domestic servant, Ms. G. from August to December 1992. Ms. G., who was from Sri Lanka, had been working for the Alzanki family in Kuwait where her passport had been taken from her and she was threatened that she would be subject to arrest should she leave the residence. She was informed that she would work for Talal and Abair Alzanki in America. Ms. G. was promised a salary of $250 per month which was reduced to $120 before she departed Kuwait. Upon arrival in Quincy, MA her passport was taken from her again. During the four month working for the Alzankis in Quincy she was repeatedly threatened that she would be deported if she left the house and that American police and citizens would shoot undocumented aliens who ventured out alone. She was not permitted to use the telephone or mail and to speak to anyone but the Alzankis. Ms. G. was made to clean the house with caustic and noxious fumes, deliberately risking her health. The Alzankis refused to get her medical treatment for serious health problems. Ms. G. was also physically assaulted on two occasions. The Alzankis denied adequate food and Ms. G. became severely malnourished. Ms. G. was also threatened on almost a daily basis with deportation, death, or serious harm, should she disobey the Alzanki's orders.