Thread: Saudi mom dodges jail in nanny slave case

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Saudi mom dodges jail in nanny slave case
By Felix Doligosa Jr., Rocky Mountain News
July 29, 2006

A Saudi Arabian mother who was accused of enslaving her children's nanny avoided prison time Friday when a federal judge sentenced her to five years of probation.

The sentence stems from an agreement that allowed Sarah Khonaizan, 36, to enter a guilty plea to a charge of harboring an illegal immigrant. The government, in exchange, dropped kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, criminal extortion and false imprisonment charges.

Prosecutors say Khonaizan and her husband, Homaidan Al-Turki, kept an Indonesian woman in their home for four years and forced her to perform long hours of housework and child care for $2 a day.

Last month, Al-Turki, 37, who also was accused of sexually molesting the woman, was convicted of more than a dozen felony counts in state court. Al-Turki faces between 96 years to 12 consecutive life sentences on the unlawful sexual contact charges alone.

U.S. District Judge Walker Miller on Friday ordered Khonaizan to pay $26,275.09 in restitution.

Khonaizan and her husband had previously reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor that required them to pay the woman $64,000.

"I did not realize at the time she was unhappy. I am sorry," Khonaizan wrote in a statement.

Khonaizan's lawyer, Forrest Lewis, said she plans on going back to Saudi Arabia with her five children after she completes her sentence, although the government could choose to deport her sooner.

Khonaizan cried after the court hearing as several young girls hugged her. She is scheduled to appear in Arapahoe County District Court next week to be sentenced on state theft charges associated with her failure to pay the woman fair wages.

Said in a sarcastic tone

Never mind the fact that what she was doing was wrong. Let us appeal to emotion think of the poor mother and children.