A nanny has been enslaved in Katy Texas for years and her plight has been addressed.ALL is alleged, of course. Federal agents first learned of A. E.'s plight last September when a person concerned for the woman's welfare called the NATIONAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING RESOURCE CENTER hot line, according to court documents. But- the woman's woes began 4 years ago and about 6000 miles away from Houston.
While the couple was was visiting their native Nigeria for an extended stay, A.E. agreed to care for their children and handle household duties for the equivalent of about $100 per month,according to an affidavit by Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Christopher Maines.
She later was offered a chance to accompany the family back to the U.S. on the condition that she agreed to a five year contract at the same monthly wage, which was to be automatically deposited in her Nigerian bank account, according to the document.
The contract stipulated that the couple would also help A.E. to get long needed medical attention to repair her left arm which had been mangled in a motor cycle accident. Once she arrived in The States in 2013,after being slipped into the country with a tourist visa under a guise she was a relative, matters took a turn for the worse, Maine contends.
The wife confiscated A.E.'s passport and told her that under U.S. law she did not have to be paid for her 1st 4 months of employment. She also was told to bag up all of her personal belongings, including her clothing, which were thrown in the trash. She was then given other clothing and allegedly told she would have to sleep in the room with the couple's children, but that she would have to stay on the floor because she was "too smelly" to lay on the kids beds.
Sandra Nsobundu allegedly unleashed violence noted in the agent's affidavit, such as dragging her by the hair down a hallway for putting the wrong socks on two of the children,this incident included threats from Nsobundu to shoot and kill A.E. for not taking care of the babies, according to documents,allegedly.
A.E., who was often referred to as simply "The Idiot" was also allegedly once knocked to the ground in the driveway over a crying child and was told to quickly get up so neighbors would not see. no money was ever sent to her account, and she was never given help with her arm.
There are reasons why this victim could not fight back and reasons why we all need to be vigilant - covered in pt 3, and we will keep you posted as to the justice of the situation.
If you know of anyone, even yourself in a rough nanny situation - call us - we can get yoou the right advocate.
and of course if you have a similar story it can help others learn
From The Houston Chronicle, an Award Winning Paper by permission
Awesome Authors Dane Schiller and Emily Foxhall
1 comment:
...she was actually roped into nannying 2 babies in Nigeria while the couple was adopting them. $100/month in Nigeria isn't bad - not luxury but a nice stipend, especially since she most likely had room and board with the babies. What they did to her when she arrived in USA is despicable though. They lied, forged and trafficked her into the country. This is simply another face of human trafficking - and on that note, in comparison to majority of trafficked people she didn't have it half bad
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