ATLANTA - A former Suwanee resident could spend decades in jail and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for forcing two young Nigerian women to work for her as slaves.
Federal authorities said Bidemi Bello, 41, is a citizen of Nigeria who brought two young women with her to Georgia under the guise of having them work for her as nannies. In reality, Bello abused the women, forcing them to eat spoiled food and to sleep on the floor and then beating them when they did not clean her home properly.
Bello was convicted on a total of eight counts by a federal jury late Friday night, including two counts of forced labor, two counts of trafficking for forced labor, one count of document servitude, one count of alien harboring, and two counts of making false statements in an application to become a United States citizen. The trial lasted one week.
United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, "The evidence showed that this was a case of modern day slavery hidden within an expensive home in an upscale neighborhood. The two women who were abused here thought they were going to be nannies; instead they were treated inhumanely."
According to Yates and the evidence and testimony at trial,the two victims had been separately recruited in Nigeria by Bello to come to the United States to work as her nanny. In return, Bello promised she would send the young women to school in the United States, and for one victim, she promised to pay her. The first victim, identified in court as "Laome," traveled with Bello in October, 2001 when she was 17-years-old, using a fraudulent British passport the defendant had obtained for her. The second victim, identified in court as "Dupe," traveled with an associate of Bello's to the United States in November, 2004 when she was 20, also using a fraudulent British passport.
The evidence showed that once in the United States, Bello became verbally and physically abusive to both young women. She beat them for not cleaning well, beat them for not responding fast enough to her crying child fast enough, and beat them if they talked back to her. The young women testified Bello beat them with a large wooden spoon, shoes, electric cords and with her hands. One young woman was able to take pictures on her injuries with a disposable camera.
Two witnesses, one a friend and one a relative of Bello, also testified about the abuse they witnessed. Both women said they told Bello to stop abusing the girls.
In addition, the evidence showed that even though Bello's upscale home had multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, Bello made the young women sleep on the floor or a couch, would not let them use the shower, but instead required them to bathe with the water in one bucket. Even though the young women cooked all of Bello's meals, they were not allowed to eat the food they cooked, as Bello made them eat cheaper food or, sometimes, food that had spoiled and was moldy. Laome testified that she often threw up from the food Bello made her eat, and that at on at least one occasion, Bello made her eat the vomit.
Bello moved out of the United States during the investigation. She was indicted on the charges in September, 2010. She was found and arrested at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston upon re-entering the United States.
Sentencing for Bello has been set for August 24, 2011, before United States District Judge William S. Duffey, Jr. The two forced labor charges and the two labor trafficking charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The two document servitude counts carry a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Lastly, the alien harboring count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Tuesday
November 26th, 2024
3:45AM
