Texas couple pleads guilty to enslaving Nigerian nanny for two years
The Nigerian couple in Katy, Texas charged in relation to enslaving their Nigerian nanny from Sept. 29, 2013, through Oct. 10,
2015, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, October 20th in the Houston Federal courtroom. See previous post here
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson said Sandra Nsobundu, 49,
pleaded guilty to unlawful conduct with respect to documents in
furtherance of forced labor, while her husband, Chudy Nsobundu, 57,
pleaded guilty to visa fraud.
For two years, the couple, who are naturalized U.S. citizens, forced the woman to work without her passport and visa.
the Nsobundus also knowingly enforced a scheme to cause the woman to
believe that failure to perform the labor services would result in
serious harm. They also threatened abuse of law and the legal process.
The
woman was not paid and her movement was restricted to the Nsobundus'
residence or two short walks a day with the children. The Nsobundus also
frequently yelled at, scolded and berated the woman for moving too
slowly or failing to care for the children in the manner they wanted.
The Nsobundus also threatened to send the woman back to Nigeria if she
didn't comply with their labor demands.
The Nsobundus falsified
the visa application for their nanny when she came to the United States
from Nigeria. They lied about her age, her reason for travel
and her marital status, among other things. They also hid the fact that
she would be working for the family as a housemaid and nanny under
conditions not in compliance with U.S. labor laws.
After getting
the woman's visa, the Nsobundus paid for the woman to get to the United
States from Nigeria. Once here, Sandra Nsobundu took the victim’s
passport and copies of her bank statement with the intent to violate the
forced labor statute.
The victim was rescued Oct. 10, 2015 following a tip to the National
Human Trafficking Resource Center.
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