US couple to pay enslaved Nigerian nanny $121,000, jailed 7 months

US couple to pay enslaved Nigerian nanny $121,000, jailed 7 months

Sandra and Chudy Nsobundu will be in jail for seven months and owe $121,000 to their former nanny, a judge ruled.

A Texas couple who pleaded guilty to charges related to forcing a Nigerian woman to work as their nanny for two years without pay has been ordered to pay her more than $ 121 , 000 in restitution , a judge ruled Friday.

Chudy Nsobundu, 57 , and his wife Sandra, 49 , of Katy , were additionally sentenced to seven months in jail, seven months of home confinement and three years ’ probation for the abuse , The Associated Press reported.

The victim, who has not been identified, told authorities that the couple recruited her from her home country with an agreement that she ’d be paid $ 100 a month to work for them , according to a 2016 press release by The U . S . Attorney ’ s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

Instead, from September 2013 to October 2015 , she said she was forced to work 19 .5 -hour days for the couple and their five children without pay or breaks . She was additionally subjected to physical and verbal abuse , strictly leftover food as her meals , and was denied a bed and warm showers.

To prevent her from leaving , she said her passport was taken and she was physically threatened.

A trip to the National Human Trafficking Resource Centre led to the nanny ’ s liberation in October 2015 , during which her paperwork for obtaining a proper U.S . work visa was found containing false information, authorities said.

In 2016 , Sandra Nsobundu pleaded guilty to unlawful conduct with respect to documents in furtherance of forced labour , while her husband , Chudy Nsobundu, pleaded guilty to visa fraud .