Nigerian woman bags jailterm in U.S for subjecting 2 ladies to forced labour
A Nigerian woman based in the United States of America, Bolaji Bolarinwa, has been sentenced to 45 months’ imprisonment for recruiting and subjecting two Nigerians to forced labour.
The US Department of Justice, in a statement obtained from its website disclosed that Bolarinwa was convicted on counts bordering on forced labour, alien harbouring and servitude.
The statement noted that between December 2015 and October 2016, she recruited two victims from Nigeria and “coerced them to perform domestic labour and childcare services for her children through physical harm, threats of physical harm, isolation, constant surveillance and psychological abuse.
“The defendant engaged in this conduct knowing that one of the victims was out of lawful immigration status while working in her home.”
It added that the convict, upon bringing the victims to the US, seized their passports, subjected them to verbal and physical abuse, and coerced them to perform domestic labour.
Meanwhile, one of the victims, who was enrolled in a school, took the courage to inform her professor, leading to the convict’s arrest.
The statement read, “Once the first victim arrived in the United States in December 2015, Bolarinwa confiscated her passport and coerced her through threats of physical harm to her and her daughter, verbal abuse, isolation and constant surveillance to compel her to work every day, around the clock for nearly a year.
Bolarinwa then recruited a second victim to come to the United States on a student visa. When the second victim arrived in the United States in April 2016, Bolarinwa similarly confiscated her passport and coerced her to perform household work and childcare but relied more heavily on physical abuse.
“The two victims lived and worked in Bolarinwa’s home until October 2016, when the second victim notified a professor at her college, who reported the information to the FBI.”
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It continued that following a two-week trial before the US District Judge, Karen Williams, Bolarinwa was found guilty and sentenced to 45 months’ imprisonment on Wednesday.
“In addition to the prison term, Judge Williams sentenced Bolarinwa to three years of supervised release, imposed a $35,000 fine, and ordered Bolarinwa to pay $87,518.72 in restitution to the victims of her offences,” it added.
Reacting to the judgment, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon noted that the ruling would send a signal to others that forced labour would not be tolerated in the US.
He said, “The Justice Department is committed to fully enforcing our federal human trafficking statutes to vindicate the rights of survivors and hold human traffickers accountable for such shameful exploitation of vulnerable victims.”
Also, the acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Newark Field Office, Terence Reilly, urged anyone who noticed any odd situation to report it.
“Bolarinwa lured women with false promises, held them captive, and forced them to clean her home and care for her children. Then, took it a sickening step further by physically abusing them. Luckily, one of the victims had the courage to tell someone.
“We ask anyone who notices an odd situation, something that doesn’t look or feel right to please call us so we can help victims that may be hiding in plain sight,” Reilly stated.
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