A Texas couple have been arrested by the police for allegedly forcing a 38-year-old Nigerian woman into slavery.
The couple, Chudy and Sandra Nsobundu, 56 and 50 respectively, were detained on charges of forced labour, withholding documents, conspiracy to harbour an illegal immigrant and visa fraud.
People.com reports that Nigerian woman was forced to care for the couple’s five children over a two-year-period without paying her for the services rendered.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigators insist that the Nsobundus held the woman captive for two years and even seized her passport, in a bid to prevent her from traveling out of the country.
The woman was also allegedly abused physically and verbally, and was forced to clean, cook, and care for the children from 5.30 am until 1.00 am.
An FBI statement read that the couple “regularly referred to the victim as ‘the idiot’,” and also told the woman “she could not watch television or even sit down during her work hours. She was also allegedly told to sleep on the floor and could not use warm water to bathe or wash her hair.”
“She was not allowed to eat fresh food and was only permitted the leftovers from the previous prepared meals,” the authorities further informed, adding that “if the victim even wanted some milk for her tea, she would have to actually strain the milk out of the children’s cereal bowls.”
Investigations also revealed that the couple did not fulfill their promise of paying the woman $100 a month for her services.
The Nsobundus face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted as visa fraud carries a maximum penalty of 25 years while the withholding documents and harboring conspiracy charges carry a maximum five and 10 years, respectively, while a combination of the charges could amount to $250,000 in fines.
As at Wednesday, it could not be ascertained if Chudy had any legal representation but Joan Nwuli, Sandra’ attorney was unavailable for comment same day.
Post A Comment:
0 comments: