Posted on 11/07/2019 3:07:17 PM PST by yesthatjallen
South Carolina Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Forcing Man with Intellectual Disability to Work at Restaurant
U.S. District Court Judge R. Bryan Harwell sentenced defendant Bobby Paul Edwards, 54, of Conway, South Carolina, to 10 years in prison and ordered him to pay $272,952.96 in restitution to the victim. The defendant pleaded guilty on June 4, 2018, to one count of forced labor for coercing an African-American man with an intellectual disability to work extensive hours at a restaurant for no pay.
“It is almost inconceivable that instances of forced labor endure in this country to this day – a century and a half after the Emancipation Proclamation,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to investigate, prosecute, and convict human traffickers involved in forced labor, seeking justice on behalf of their victims.”
“For stealing his victim’s freedom and wages, Mr. Edwards has earned every day of his sentence,” said U.S. Attorney Sherri A. Lydon for the District of South Carolina. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will not tolerate forced or exploitative labor in South Carolina, and we are grateful to the watchful citizen and our partners in law enforcement who put a stop to this particularly cruel violence.”
“This abusive enslavement of a vulnerable person is shocking. The FBI is always vigilantly searching for these offenses and stands ready to bring perpetrators to justice and help victims reclaim their lives. We understand human trafficking takes many forms and we encourage anyone with information related to these crimes to contact the FBI,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jody Norris.
According to the defendant’s plea colloquy and admissions in court, between 2009 and 2014, the defendant used violence and other coercive means to compel the victim to work for more than 100 hours a week for no pay at a restaurant managed by the defendant in Conway, South Carolina. The defendant subjected the victim to physical and emotional abuse whenever the victim made a mistake or failed to work fast enough. The defendant beat the victim with a belt, fists, and pots and pans. On one occasion, he dipped metal tongs into hot grease and burned the victim’s neck. The defendant further yelled at the victim and used racial slurs to belittle and demean him. After a concerned resident notified state authorities of the defendant’s abuse, the victim was removed from the situation in October 2014.
SNIP
Exactly. Another reason to question this story.
Because of the races this SHOULD be a national story but it isn't.
I suspect it has something to do with his family and their role in not doing anything to keep track of this man.
I suspect it's because they didn't care. With his obvious mental deficiencies, they were happy to farm him out to the restaurant......
Smith described feeling like he was in prison, praying daily that God would help him escape. He said he didn’t leave because he worried about Edwards hurting him or his family.
He was more worried about his family than they were of him.........
So many things wrong with this story that could have been prevented........my heart goes out to this guy.
With the lawsuit payoff, I hope he is taken in by a family that really cares about him. If not, the family that let him live in servitude is about to purchase some new cars and big flat screen TV's.......
Conway - what an armpit.
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This is horrific.
The reason this story isn't national news is because his family abandoned him. They didn't care. They were glad he was out of their lives.
A horrible story on many levels.
How are they going to get $272,952.96 in restitution to the victim?
And is it enough for ten years of servitude and abuse?
Perp should’ve gotten life.
Exactly!
We have sexual slavery all over the world. and it gets very little attention
No, but can they get this money? I bet not.
I’m sure he’ll prove to be pretty popular among the black inmates of the prison he’s sent to.
A horrible story. The perp needs more than ten years. I imagine the vicitm is a genteel soul. ...and you know there are other situations where people with certain disabilities are hired and work for years at a restaurant, or grocery store or other job that is not too demanding...The employer, the patrons, etc, all love and take care of that person.
Booby Paul, (mis-spelling on purpose), could have given the the victim minimum wage and a place to stay in the back of the restaurant and be a hero for taking care of another human. But no...he wanted to save $60 a day and not pay the man.
I truly hope that the victim has someone appointed to carefully manage his finances so that he is not again a victim.
Chris Paul is ‘nowhere’ near
Bobby Paul Edwards....<: <: <:
yes...when I ‘started’ you had made the inquiry...didn’t see the ‘correction’ till I hit send and refreshed...
Oh well...
I had a good friend who was born in the north but claimed Southern Heritage, even adding the drawl etc etc..
He said that yes, he was born in Chicago but only because he wanted to be near his mother but was a Georgian by choice...
He was ahead of his time when it came to ‘choice’...
Back in the day it would have been considered a ‘lie’
BUT
in todays world where you can just pick your gender it isn’t/wasn’t all that bad...<: <: <:
Like Archie Bunker would have said, 8 years of BO and people don’t know which terlet to use...
I googled it and found you on PronounceNames.com so I'm good now.
The Cowsills were the real life Partridge Family but they were not telegenic so another family was found.
Not telegenic you say? Well judge for yourself...
I think you meant to ask how this occurred between 2009 and 2014 and not get caught or prosecuted under the SJW Obama administration DOJ, led by Eric Holder.
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