A Texas couple was sentenced to seven years in prison for enslaving an African woman.
Mohamed Touré, 58, and his wife, Denise Cros-Touré, 57, were found guilty earlier this year of forcing a young girl from Guinea to work for them for almost 16 years.
During the trial, it emerged that the young woman, identified as Djena Diallo, lived in Guinea with her family in a one-room mud hut with a thatched roof and no electricity, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Her father was a farmer and her mother sold produce.
The girl knew Malinke, a Guinean dialect, and some French, but not English. In January 2000, the Toures arranged for the girl to travel alone from her village to their house in Southlake, Texas. For the next 16 years, they forced her to cook, clean, take care of their five children, and do other work. They did not pay her.
Sentencing set for Southlake couple who forced girl to work as servant for years https://t.co/xTrzxoCv75
— Fort Worth Star-Telegram (@startelegram) April 22, 2019
The girl escaped from the couple’s house in 2016 with the help of several former neighbors.
Appearing in court during the trial, the woman told the jury she was beaten with a belt or an electrical cord when she didn’t complete chores or burned food. Punishment also included shaving her head, washing her outside with a hose, and forcing her to sleep in a nearby park.
“She tried to choke me multiple times,” Diallo said, reported the Dallas Morning News. “She pulled my hair.”
She also said that the couple called her “dog,” “slave,” and “worthless,” and noted she wasn’t allowed to receive an education.
Along with the conviction, the jury said the couple’s property, worth $590,000, should be forfeited since it was used in the crime.
Was Djena Diallo ‘slave’ or ‘family’ in Mohamed Toure & Denise Florence Cros-Toure’s home?@KevinRKrause reports on the wealthy Southlake couple’s federal trial on charges, among others, of forced labor and harboring an alien for financial gain.https://t.co/VjHvdafAXx
— Beth Frerking (@BethFrerking) January 10, 2019
Each of the Tourés was sentenced to seven years in federal prison on April 22 and they must also pay their former slave $288,000 in restitution.
After they serve their sentences, they will be deported to Guinea.
“I hope that today’s sentence brings some measure of justice and healing to the victim, who suffered untold trauma as a result of the defendants’ heinous crimes. The defendants stole her childhood and her labor for years, enriching themselves while leaving her with pain and an uncertain future,” Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement.
“I am very grateful to all who supported, and continue to support, the victim as she attempts to rebuild her life. The Department of Justice will continue to investigate and vigorously prosecute human traffickers and vindicate the rights of their victims.”
“Forced labor trafficking cases are notoriously difficult to prosecute—in part because victims are often afraid to speak out,” added U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox. “It took tremendous courage for this young woman to share her story at trial. She was brought to this country at a young age, pressured to stay quiet, and forced to work for this family without pay for 16 years. I want to commend her, as well as the witnesses who helped shine a light on her circumstances. If we want to wipe out human trafficking, we need to remind witnesses to speak up, and ask the community to remain alert.”
The Tourés remained defensive and didn’t admit guilt.
“This is one of the hardest things we’ve been through,” Denise Cros-Toure told U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor before she was sentenced, reported the Star-Telegram. “We opened our home to everyone and our hearts.”
Mohamed Touré claimed to love the African woman like a daughter. “We believed the truth would come out,” he said before he was sentenced.
The Tourés are from Guinea and have been permanent U.S. residents since 2005; Mohamed Toure is the son of Guinea’s first president, Ahmed Sékou Touré.
The couple and defense attorneys are exploring an appeal, Scott Palmer, attorney for Cros-Touré, told The Associated Press.
Palmer claimed that O’Conner’s sentence of seven years, versus the 20 years prosecutors recommended, suggested the judge didn’t think the Tourés were evil as prosecutors had sought to portray them.
“I think he saw through the exaggerations and lies of the prosecution,” he said.
