ARLINGTON, Texas, Feb. 2 (UPI) — A Texas couple were convicted Tuesday of keeping a Nigerian woman in indentured servitude for nine years, federal officials said.
Emmanuel and Ngozi Nnaji face up to 55 years in prison, the U.S. Justice Department said in a release. A U.S. District Court jury found the Nnajis guilty of conspiracy, forced labor, document servitude, alien harboring and false statements.
Authorities said the Nnajis enticed a widowed Nigerian mother of six to come to the United States to be their domestic servant by falsely promising a salary and support for her children. Instead, they kept her in their home, compelling her to work long hours with no days off for little or no pay. They also restricted her communications, refused to let her go back home and didn’t support her children, authorities said.
Emmanuel Nnaji also was found to have sexually assaulted the victim and made her fearful to call the police.
“Holding other human beings in servitude against their will is a violation of human rights that will not be tolerated in our free society,” said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This prosecution demonstrates our commitment to combating human trafficking in all its forms, vindicating the rights of trafficking victims and bringing human traffickers to justice.”
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