• 10
  • August
    2011

A Micronesian couple living in Washington state pled guilty in federal court to human trafficking charges in connection with their employment of a household domestic worker.

The couple recruited a young woman from Micronesia and arranged for her passport and transportation to the U.S. with the intent that she would work full time providing child care as well as cooking and cleaning. While her employment may have been legal - depending upon her immigration status - she received no compensation during her year of employment with the couple.

The couple also acknowledged that they had acquired a Social Security card for the foreign worker without her knowledge and arranged for her to be employed - again, full time - at a chicken processing plant. They took all of her earnings.

The definition of "human trafficking" includes those who are coerced to work in debt bondage (often the person is told they must pay the debt for their passport and transportation costs) or forced to work due to violence or threats of violence.

When assessing whether a foreign worker has been the victim of human trafficking, law enforcement will consider whether the victims could have left their job, whether the person was isolated from others, and the extent the person was monitored.

In this case, the couple charged with human trafficking admitted that they did not allow their domestic worker to have friends, to leave the house unmonitored, or to participate in social gatherings.

They have not yet been sentenced but could face a maximum of five years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 for this federal crime.