A Texas couple has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison each for enslaving a West African girl for more than 16 years until she escaped with the help of neighbors, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.
Mohamed Touré and Denise Cros-Touré, who are citizens of Guinea and lawful permanent residents of the U.S., were also ordered to pay their victim $288,620.24 in restitution in the forced labor conviction, the release says.
Prosecutors say the couple — members of “wealthy and powerful Guinean families” — arranged for the victim to travel to Texas from rural Guinea in early 2000. Starting as a young girl, the couple forced the victim “to cook, clean, and take care of their biological children, some of whom were close in age to the victim, without pay for the next 16 years,” the release says.