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Posted on 06/10/2005 4:16:01 PM PDT by TFFKAMM
(06-10) 15:09 PDT Aurora, Colo. (AP) --
A Saudi Arabian couple was in custody Friday, accused of turning a young Indonesian woman into a virtual slave, forcing her to clean, cook and care for their children while she was threatened and sexually assaulted.
A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted Homaidan Al-Turki, 36, and his wife, Sarah Khonaizan, 35, on charges of forced labor, document servitude and harboring an illegal immigrant.
Al-Turki also faces state charges including kidnapping, false imprisonment and extortion, as well as 12 charges of sexual assault. His wife faces some of the same charges. The two could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.
Phone messages left Friday for their individual lawyers were not immediately returned.
U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Jeff Dorschner said the Indonesian woman, who is in her 20s, came to the United States with the couple legally to perform domestic chores. But her U.S. visa was hidden from her by Al-Turki and Khonaizan, according to Thursday's indictment.
The woman was controlled by "a climate of fear and intimidation" that included sexual abuse and the belief that she would "suffer serious harm" if she did not perform her tasks, the indictment said.
The woman is believed to have lived with the couple from 2000 until November 2004, according to authorities. Dorschner said she is not in custody.
Authorities said the couple owed the woman nearly $93,000 in unpaid wages.
A neighbor, Vicki Lisman, said she believed the couple has four children — three young girls and a teenage boy. In the summer, the mother and children would go to Saudi Arabia while the father stayed in Colorado, she said. Lisman said she had no idea another woman lived with the family...
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Geez....damn foreigners bring their bad habits over here!
What a terrible story. I'm glad these people got caught. I hope the young woman can collect a BIG law suit settlement.
Hey, it is what they do at home( Saudi). Bet they are counting on the general trend of bending over back in order to keep from OFFENDING their BS customs.
This poor woman has already been damaged so much. Just heartbreaking. Not much has really changed on this earth....with all our modernness..the heart of man remains the same.
"Family values don't stop at the border." (/naivety)
Sadly, a very common practice in some parts of the world.
I guess the neighbors never saw her because she was kept in the house all the time. What a way to live!
Throw the book at them and send them back home.
WARNING: This is a high volume ping list
"A Saudi Arabian couple was in custody Friday, accused of turning a young Indonesian woman into a virtual slave, forcing her to clean, cook and care for their children while she was threatened and sexually assaulted."
Guess where?
Watch for the husband, wife, and children to be slipped on an airplane for Saudi Arabia.
There was a similiar incident in Ft. Myers a few years back, only I believe that this guy was a rapist. He was allowed to "disappear".
There are many degrees of this situation going on in the US right now. It is possible to get your maid a visa and even some US State Dept people have maids imported that way.
Many are bound by their own family or as soul supported of a family at home cannot afford to complain.
The illegals are in worse shape.
All part of our intentionally broken immigration system..
I think punishment for keeping a slave ought to be very severe. 10x damages for back wages. Life in prison for both. Then start the rape trial.
Was that Prince Ham'n egg Ali Turkey? It sure seems like Hamn'egg thought he was a prince.
Beautiful, downtown Denver!
ol' hoghead
NO BAIL!!!
Scumbags like this always flee to Saudi Arabia to avoid punishment for their actions.
How dare we narrow minded Americans criticize another culture.
Seriously, this is the epitome of multiculturalism.
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