Thread: Jury Selection Begins For Man In Slavery Case

http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/local_ ... 01715.html

Jun 13, 2006 6:15 pm US/Mountain

Jury Selection Begins For Man In Slavery Case
(AP) AURORA, Colo. Jury selection began Tuesday in the case of a Saudi man accused of repeatedly raping an Indonesian woman he and his wife kept as a virtual slave for four years in their suburban Aurora home.

Opening arguments were expected Wednesday, prosecutors said.

Homaidan Al-Turki, 37, a Saudi citizen, is charged with two counts of kidnapping, 12 counts of sexual assault, extortion, theft and false imprisonment and could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

His wife, Sarah Khonaizan, 35, pleaded guilty to state and federal charges of theft and harboring an illegal immigrant and faces up to a year in prison when she is sentenced in July and August. She has agreed to return to Saudi Arabia after completing her sentences, her lawyers have said.

Prosecutors and FBI agents said the couple brought the woman to Colorado to care for their five children and to cook and clean for the family. An affidavit said she slept on a mattress on the basement floor and was paid less than $2 a day.

State prosecutors also alleged that Al-Turki sexually assaulted the woman repeatedly. The Associated Press is not identifying her because of the sexual assault allegations.

Al-Turki also faces an October federal trial on charges of forced labor, document servitude and harboring an illegal immigrant.

In April, Al-Turki and Khonaizan agreed to pay the nanny about $64,000 in wages to settle a Labor Department lawsuit.

Al-Turki, a linguist, worked at a Denver publishing and translating company and is a doctoral candidate at the University of Colorado. He is free on bond.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4000623

Article Launched: 07/01/2006 01:00:00 AM MDT

local news
Saudi man convicted of sex abuse
By Jeremy P. Meyer
Denver Post Staff Writer

Arapahoe County - An Indonesian woman wept and plugged fingers into her ears to shield the sounds of wailing family and friends of the man found guilty Friday afternoon of sexual abuse.

Homaidan Al-Turki, 37, of Saudi Arabia, who lives in Aurora, was initially charged with kidnapping and sexual assault. But after a day of deliberation, the jury convicted Al-Turki on reduced charges of false imprisonment and unlawful sexual contact, as well as the original charges of theft and criminal extortion.

Al-Turki, a linguistics doctoral candidate at the University of Colorado at Boulder, now faces up to life in prison at his sentencing Aug. 31.

Authorities say for four years Al-Turki kept the 24-year-old Indonesian woman as a slave in the family home, forcing her to cook and clean and take care of the family and their five children with little pay. Prosecutors say Al-Turki eventually intimidated the woman into sex acts that culminated in her rape in late 2004.

The defense said many of the allegations were simply misconstrued cultural differences, or what attorney John Richilano called "cynical Islamaphobia."

The 2 1/2-week trial ended in drama in the courtroom, with as many as nine sheriff's deputies trying to keep peace while Al-Turki's supporters howled at the verdict that was delivered after a day of deliberation.

One man was forcibly removed because of his loud sobbing. A woman collapsed at the courtroom door after seeing Al-Turki taken away in handcuffs.

He is being held without bail in the Arapahoe County jail until his sentencing.

Al-Turki, wearing a white robe, at first showed little emotion - touching his left index finger to his nose - as Judge J. Mark Hannen read the verdicts. But after the jury left the courtroom, Al-Turki began to sob and hug his family and friends.

His attorney, Dan Recht, refused to comment on the verdict, other than to say they will appeal.

Both Al-Turki and his wife, Sarah Khonaizan, were charged with state and federal crimes. Khonaizan has reached plea agreements in exchange for avoiding jail sentences and has agreed to be deported.

Al-Turki still faces federal charges of harboring the nanny, whose visa had expired, and underpaying her.

The defense said many of the allegations were simply misconstrued cultural differences, or what attorney John Richilano called "cynical Islamaphobia."

Slavery and rape are misconstrued cultural difference and therefore anyone who sees anything wrong with his actions has "cynical Islamaphobia". What drugs is this guy on?

This is the second story I have seen today of someone keeping a slave in America, the other one was Egyptian. The Arabs can keep their cultures in their countries too.