Georgia woman sentenced to more than 11 years for human trafficking
By Moni Basu, CNN
ATLANTA - Bidemi Bello will spend the next 11 years in a U.S. prison. After that she will be deported back to her native Nigeria, her luxe life in suburban Atlanta decidedly finished.
Bello, 42, was convicted for bringing two Nigerian women to the United States and forcing them to work in her plush home as slaves. U.S. District Judge William Duffey Jr. sentenced her to 140 months in jail Thursday.
Bello apologized to her two victims, present in the Atlanta courtroom to hear firsthand their abuser's punishment. Bello also apologized to her prosecutors, said U.S. Attorney Susan Coppedge.
"We are very pleased with the sentence," she said. "I think it fits the facts of the case."
Those facts amounted to "shocking modern-day slavery," said Brock Nicholson, the special agent in charge of immigration and homeland security investigations in Atlanta.
Bello had promised the two young women, identified as Laome and Dupe in court, and their families that she would send them to school in the United States, according to court documents. Instead, she beat them and abused them emotionally.
At her trial, her victims testified that she beat them if the house were not clean enough or if they did not respond fast enough to a crying child or if Bello felt they had been disrespectful. She used a large wooden spoon, shoes, electrical cords and even her bare hands.
One of the women took a picture of her bruises with a disposable camera.
Bellow lived in an upscale home with many bedrooms. But the two women slept on the floor or on a couch. They were not allowed to use the shower or eat the food they cooked. Instead, they were forced to eat that was spoiled or moldy. Laome said she often threw up and at least on one occasion, Bello made her eat her vomit.
Laome was only 17 when Bello plucked her from her home in 2001. Dupe was 20 in 2004 when she came to the United States. Both traveled on fake passports.
Neither was sent to school as promised.
All of this was going on as Bello applied for and obtained U.S. citizenship. She lost that citizenship in her sentencing Thursday.
Laome eventually escaped by hiding in a car. The driver covered her with blankets and sped off while Bello was at a party.
Dupe managed to save $60 and called a cab that drove her to a church.
A federal jury convicted Bello June 10 on eight counts: two counts each of forced labor, trafficking for forced labor and making false statements in an application to become a U.S. citizen, and one count each of document servitude and alien harboring.
A phone call to Bello's attorney was not returned Friday.
Globally, an estimated 12.3 million adults and children - 56% of whom are women and girls - are the victims of forced labor, bonded labor and sex slavery, according to the U.S. State Department. The trade puts approximately $32 billion into the pockets of traffickers each year.
Coppedge said she was sure similar cases exist in Atlanta and elsewhere in the United States.
"Unfortunately, yes," she said. "I do think there are others."
Her office urged anyone with information on a human trafficking case to contact the Atlanta FBI at (404) 679-9000 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (404) 679-9000      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
– CNN's Dana Ford contributed to this story

http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/14/georgia-woman-sentenced-to-more-than-11-years-for-human-trafficking/

Wicked beast. She deserves it

Cosigned

her own don don!

M M M:

safe journey 2 hell after prison

So Nigeria is now hell?, na wao

SHE MADE THEM ATE HER VOMIT! Eww!!! Good lord,i will have to be dead before I touch ones vomit talkless of shoving it in my mouth. Dirty and a disguting whoring maniac!! May u roth in jail, mama ijebu.

Evil woman! Deport her back to kirikiri now!

she deserve life imprisonment for this dastardly and cruel act.

You see, sometimes I wonder if some people have a heart. Imagine, a woman like her. What will she gain by this act?

she forgot that she is no longer in Nigeria, where you get away with anything even murder, there are alot of her kind here who still indulge in these evil acts

oyedepo1:

You see, sometimes I wonder if some people have a heart. Imagine, a woman like her. What will she gain by this act?

I wonder oh

deserves its [img]http://2.s07.flagcounter.com/count/DymW/bg=E6E6E5/txt=E6E6E5/border=E6E6E5/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=3/labels=0/[/img]
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Women can be very terrible, especially to their fellow women!!!

A believe that this is a mare set up by those babes, After the woman assisted the 1st person in their generation get into the US by helping their sorry poverty oriented brain ouuta hell(Nigeria) this is how to pay her back. That is Y Nigerians don't help Nigerians,

And how would you describe the abuse, marks on the lady's body?

There’s nothing wrong in needing or hiring a maid if you have the means. But your maid is not a slave and there are labor laws that have to be followed! Even if you bring someone from Nigeria, she needs to have the following:

1. Freewill to quit anytime. Any perceived hindrance, whether real or imagined, against her leaving will likely be deemed illegal servitude. All your flimsy excuses as to why she was free to leave will not work.  

2. The maid and not her family needs to be paid, at least, the minimum wage per hour with money out of your control. You cannot claim to hold the money for her.

3. Time off from work. And if you require her to work odd hours, she has to be compensated for the extra time worked.

4. Hitting is illegal, period!

If you cannot afford the above, then maybe you’re not wealthy enough to hire a maid.

what goes around comes around.
what she has done to those girls bounced on her heavilly

Kai some people are W-I-C-K-E-D.

You can take a woman out of Nigeria but cant take Nigeria out of her

She thinks its the way she has been using all those Ekaette housegirls in Nigeria

Mavor:

Women can be very terrible, especially to their fellow women!!!

umm. true talk.

[b]“House help” Gone Bad: U.S. Convicts Another Nigerian Of Trafficking


By Chika Oduah





“I’m sorry.”

That’s what Bidemi Bello, a 42-year-old Nigerian woman, told her two victims in a United States courtroom earlier this month.

US. District Judge William S. Duffy, Jr. convicted Bello, a once successful London-educated businesswoman, earlier this month to 140 months in prison. Duffy also ordered Bello to pay $144,200 in restitution to her victims. Bello will be stripped of her U.S. citizenship—she was naturalized in 2004.

Her victims are two Nigerian girls, known as Laome and Dupe, who were brought to the United States by Bello. Both girls are now 27-years-old.

Bello had recruited Laome and Dupe from Nigeria to come to the United States to work as nannies. She had promised to treat the girls like family members and to send them to school, according to the Office of the U.S. Attorney.

However, Laome and Dupe were forced to work as slaves without pay, faced to endure physical and verbal abuse.

In 2001, Bello had recruited Laome, who was 17 at the time, from Nigeria. Laome worked in Bello’s large home in an upscale neighborhood in Gwinnett County, Ga. from October 2001 through March 2004.

Laome eventually escaped, reportedly, with the help of one of Bello’s friends, who hid Laome in the back of car and covered Laome with blankets.

Bello then went back to Nigeria, to find another “house girl.” She recruited Dupe, who was 19 at the time.  Bello brought Dupe to Georgia, again promising to send Dupe to school. Dupe worked in Bello’s home from November 2004 until April 2006 until she gathered enough money to escape by taking a taxicab to a church, where pastors assisted her. 

Laome and Dupe were given T-visas, which authorized their stay in the United States to assist in the prosecution of Bello. T-visas http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7,  give victims of human trafficking a “T” nonimmigrant status.

During the investigation, Bello had left the United States and was arrested upon re-entry at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas.

Evidence from the case shows that Laome and Dupe were routinely beaten for not responding quickly enough, not cleaning to Bello’s liking and for other perceived infractions. Case evidence revealed that wooden spoons, shoes and electrical cords were some of the items used to beat the girls. Bello had also beaten one of the girls with a rolling pin and had punched her in the mouth.

“When she called me and I didn’t answer in time, she would slap me,” Laome said after the sentencing in court, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. http://www.ajc.com/news/gwinnett/gwinnett-woman-sentenced-to-1200147.html

The girls were forced to sleep on the floor or couch and were not allowed to shower, but were made to bathe with a bucket. Bello, reportedly, gave them food that had already spoiled.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said of the case, “forcing young women to work without compensation for their services is modern-day slavery. The laws of the United States protect all victims from such abuse, regardless of where they came from or how they came to be in the United States.”
http://www.fbi.gov/atlanta/press-releases/2010/atl092010.htm

Bello was indicted in September 2010, and later convicted of eight charges: two counts of forced labor, two counts of trafficking for forced labor, one count of alien harboring, two counts of making false statements in an application to become a U.S. citizen and one account of “document servitude.” She had taken the girls’ passports and government documents to prevent them from leaving.  A federal jury had delivered the verdict back in June after a one-week trial and deliberations that lasted an hour and 10 minutes, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. http://www.ajc.com/news/woman-convicted-of-forcing-974199.html

“The use of violence, threats and intimidation to force individuals to work is reprehensible and illegal,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “In our country, we have the right to choose to perform or not perform labor or services, and the Department of Justice is committed to persecuting individuals who force persons to do work against their will. http://www.fbi.gov/atlanta/press-releases/2010/atl092010.htm

Angela Blackwell lives behind Bello’s former home in Sugar Hill, Gwinnett County.  Blackwell told a local television reporter that she was very concerned when she heard screaming coming from the house and had even called the police.

“We heard someone say, ‘die, die, die,” Blackwell said.

“It was so shocking we were thinking surely we didn’t hear that…we heard some whipping or slapping noises and then we heard some crying…I have three children and to think we were playing within a few feet of all of this going on is just disturbing—I mean, this is America,” Blackwell told the reporter.

However, Bello’s attorney, federal public defender Suzanne Hashimi said that Bello was also once a house servant who had suffered from abuse. Hashimi has asked Duffy to reduce the sentence in consideration of this information.

Bello’s courtroom address revealed a sense of remorse. Her only daughter reportedly has moved to Nigeria.

“My actions have cost my daughter the opportunity of being raised here,” Bello said. “There is so much shame.”

But Bello is not alone in her “shame.” Other U.S. -based Nigerians have been found guilty of similar charges.

Last year, a Nigerian married couple in Arlington, Texas, Emmanuel and Ngozi Nnaji were convicted by a federal jury of “engaging in a nine-year scheme to compel the labor of a Nigerian victim as their domestic servant,” according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release. http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/February/10-crt-118.html

The FBI reported that the couple had lured a Nigerian widow with a false promise of a salary and support for her the widow’s six children.

Evidence showed that Emmanuel Nnaji, a naturalized U.S. citizen, had sexually assaulted the widow.

Emmanuel, who was 50-years-old at the time of the sentencing, will face 20 years in prison. His wife, who was 40 and is a Nigerian citizen, was sentenced to nine years in prison.

“The involuntary servitude and mistreatment that this victim endured is intolerable in a nation founded on freedom and individual rights,” said Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez in a statement.

In another case, Nigerian-born doctor, Adaobi Udeozor of Maryland, was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $110,249 after being convicted of conspiracy and harboring a 14-year-old girl. Udeozor’s husband, who had allegedly raped the 14-year-old, had fled to Nigeria to evade trial. He was later sentenced to over eight years in prison, according to the U.S. Dept. of Justice.  http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/Public-Affairs/press_releases/press08/For,

Lastly, there was Emeka and Ifeoma Udogwu, a married couple arrested and charged in New York in1999 for forcing a Nigerian girl to be their servant for nine years. A Manhattan federal court had accused the couple of conspiracy, involuntary servitude and witness tampering.

The fact is what may be perceived as a cultural norm in Nigeria will not be tolerated in the United States—the maltreatment and forced servitude of “house help.” What is referred to as human trafficking has become the fastest growing crime in the world. Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which traffickers lure individuals with false promises of employment and a better life. A reported 12.3 million people, mostly women and girls, are presently facing forced labor, bonded labor and sex slavery, according to the International Labor Organization. The United Nations reports that the global enterprise has an estimated total market value of $32 billion.

U.S officials take these cases quite seriously.

The American CIA estimates that between 15,000 to 17,500 slaves are brought into the U.S. every year. About 50,000 of them work as domestic servants, farm workers or prostitutes.

Atlanta is said to be the No. #1 hub for human trafficking in the United States. That’s one of the reasons why Georgia passed a bill that will discourage the illicit enterprise. It calls for those convicted of using coercion to traffic someone under the age of 18 to a 25-year minimum sentence. The law went into effect July 1, 2011. http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2011_12/sum/hb200.htm

“Human trafficking is a repugnant crime that is growing like cancer in our society,” said Ga. Governor, Nathan Deal in a press release. http://www.georgia.gov/00/press/detail/0,2668,165937316_170988643_171040,  “Signing this bill into law, I join my fellow Georgians in declaring moral outrage and vowing to fight human trafficking here in our state. These criminals rob their victims of freedom and human dignity, and they destroy lives. With this bill now a law, we will find these criminals and we will punish them harshly.”

Other states have similar laws. The state of California enacted the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2005 to “establish human trafficking for forced labor or services as a felony crime punishable by a sentence of 3,4 or 5 years in state prison and a sentence of 4, 6 or 8 years for trafficking a minor.”

The state of Massachusetts also recently approved an anti-human trafficking bill, along with Maryland, New York, Texas and others.

Nigerians like Bello, the Nnaji’s, the Udogwu’s and the Udeozor’s are now among the many convicts sentenced in the United States to pay the price of human trafficking of what many of ‘our people’ refer to as “common house help.”

***

Chika Oduah is a news associate at NBC News in New York City and a reporter for SaharaTV. For more about Chika, visit www.chika-oduah.com

[/b]

Beautiful woman, evil deed.

old newsss

She fully deserves this punishment.

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karma

While a lot of people will be "very quick" to comment negatively about this woman, as usual, l will try to see things "NOT JUST FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE ACCUSER" but also from all other perspectives that have relevance to this matter!

Having said that, let me state a-priori, that l condemn "human servitude and inhuman treatment of another human".

Lets see what l mean by the first statement:

1.) The two women involved were 17 and 19yrs old.
Can anyone make a woman of 19yrs old (even 16yrs) to do whatever she does NOT want to do, using physically force? How much more if that "physical force" is being exercised by a "42 year old woman"!
Who do you think is stronger? The 42yr old who is passed her prime or the 19yr old in the prime of her youth and energy? Just imagine a 42yr old man trying to force you to eat vomit, when you were 19yrs?
Am passed that age but l know that when l was that age, l was rippling with muscle and strength, very close to the peak of my youth, which generally occurs between 19 and 26.
Do you wonder why the best players in the world also fall within this age category (as physically demanding as football and most other sports are)? The answer is simply this: That is the prime of youth, strength, agility and all the good things we loose as we get older in life.
In essence, that part of the story is suspect. She might have been aggressive and threatening, in the usual Nigerian way (Loud-mouthed woman throwing curses here and there or even throwing one or two "shakara slaps"; the sort a 50yr old father will throw to his 25yr old son and he would not respond, out of respect otherwise, the son will simply break all his bones!)

2.) This story is very similar and mirrors that of Igbo Boys who travel to Lagos. to serve their Motor-Spare Part selling Boss.

No where were we told of "How this transfer to America was arranged", in the story.
I am sure she did not pick them on the street.
She went to their people and l have heard stories about how such things occur. It goes thus:
Poverty stricken family wants their daughter to seek the golden fleece in America.
They meet this affluent "Tokunbo Woman" who needs a "House-help" in America so she can have adequate time for her own "Work/Business" (we all know what a Nanny/child-minder costs in Western Countries).

In a situation of "Meeting of Interests", the affluent woman bears the cost of the travel arrangements and meets the needs of this young woman and her family: She takes their ward to America (a dream that she may not have been able to realize in  a life-time) and a lot of men/women have established themselves through this means, in foreign land.

On the other hand, the woman who invested money (Tickets, Visas, Accommodation, feeding and Upkeep) on this young "Maid-to-be", expects in return, that the lady would payback in-kind, by looking after her own kids.
A promise of schooling is usual dropped as part of the deal but that may prove tricky as the "Maid" is an illegal alien, in most cases and cannot be "fully exposed" to the "American system", as someone who is legally residing in the country. Thus, it may take years for the Maid to be integrated properly into the system, for her to begin to enjoy such public facilities as a public school.

Meanwhile, like every human relationship, friction may develop.
Maybe "Madam" was expecting too much. Maybe she was getting overly aggressive. She might even be the cruel type that maltreats people. She might be the type that uses the Maid as a slave to her own children in the sense of not setting a level playing field among her children and the maid. (I have heard of women who scold Maids, even when it was their own child that was in the wrong!)
On the other hand, a Maid of 19yrs old has needs, as a fully matured woman! She could even be an undergraduate when she left Nigeria. She may develop a relationship with a guy or lover, contrary to Madam's expectation! She may become arrogant, bordering on the "What did you even do for me sef" and she may start to act out to Madam. This is how "Things Fall Apart".

In all these, BOTH PARTIES have definitely "BREACHED THEIR UNWRITTEN CODE/AGREEMENT"!

How you might ask:
a.)The Maid cannot claim ignorance of what she was going to be doing in the U.S., before leaving Nigeria.
b.)She will be lying if she claimed she was tricked to the U.S 'cos we all know that the overriding interest on her mind, was how to get to America! And she knew why Madam was ready to splash out, to take her there (Or has Madam turn to father Christmas?)
c.) She knew that she was supposed to be in servitude to Madam (Like our Ibo boys would serve Oga in Lagos Spare-Part Market for 5yrs before gaining "independence" to start their own business: Both parties, if they kept to the agreement, BENEFITS!).
d.)Madam too did not tell her family that she would be Mal-treating her in America or making her live under dehumanizing conditions.
e.)GOING TO COURT TO SORT THINGS OUT WAS NEVER PART OF THE DEAL!

3.)Finally, let me bear on the morality of Madam's actions and that of the Maid's evidence:
Madam should have been a humane person, with the fear of God, knowing that it was "economic conditions" that made the Maid, to become a maid.  She should have treated her nicely, like she would want herself or her own daughter be treated. But, hell-no, she was the typical over-lording Nigerian Madam! Foul mouthed and wicked to the core.

The Maid should have remembered when she was "begging" to be accepted by Madam, to be taken to be her house Maid (House Helper would be a fair statement). She should have remembered that she promised "heaven and hell" to be a good girl, to be loyal and always obey Madam!
But like a Nigerian adage would say, "when the sick become healed, they quickly forget about the drugs and the Doctor who prescribed them! (literally translated).

In cases like this (and l still remember the story of that Nigerian Gay-Teenager whose mother was arrested and sentenced for abduction. i remember the role played by such Gay-NGO's and how they coached such victims to say about ANYTHING that would get them sympathy from the judge and put the accused behind bars!).

This story is no different. I am sure Madam did some terrible things to the ladies  (slapping, verbal abuse, threats) but l am also convinced she did NOT force her to eat her Vomit! I am also sure she did not prevent them from bathing, for four years! Wetin!
Again, lets assume she did not allow them to bath from the shower but they have to run water into a bucket, to bath. Pray me, what is wrong with that, for them to make it sound so horrific?
I have two showers in my house right now but l still decide occasionally, to use a bucket at times. WHY? The shower takes time, especially when l need to have a good bath in a hurry.
Two big buckets of warm water will just do me fine and in less than 7mins, l am in  and out, with a good shine to my kokoro!

In all these, l think the maids have only dramatized this issue for selfish interests (with the prodding, help and insistence of the NGO's and "Defenders" they ran to, who also gets the benefit of the "PUBLICITY" that comes with such cases).

They have by their actions (directly or indirectly) been asked to "come and eat and ended up tying the hands of the person that invited them to the table".. I consider their behavior despicable and abhorring, just like that of their Madam!

They could have simply run-away and vanished into thin air. Madam would not have the liver to arrest them or do anything negative to them, knowing fully well that her "position in law" is precarious. That is why she simply went for a second Maid, when the first one "grew wings", rather than go after her.
They simply used "the situation" to their own advantage but in a way that completely destroyed the lives of their benefactor. (thats how l see the Madam for the word go).

Let me repeat that just like a lot of 'Spare-part boys or Chemist boy" have today become successful business owners, the same way, a lot of "House Helpers" taken abroad, like these women, have gone on to become something in life, without destroying their "Masters".

Whether this is an acceptable way of behavior or course of action, in the circumstances of the case, is left for everyone to judge but l have given my own personal opinion.

Lastpage

BTW: I can understand for those who cannot relate with my line of reasoning.
Its okay, lighten up and dont get abusive. Just state your own position, POLITELY.

Hi Moderator,
I got "banned" a few minutes (less than one hour) ago, after posting a lengthy response to this topic.
I was told NOT TO REPOST IT and that l will be unbanned in a few minutes.
Well, l am "unbanned" now but my post is MISSING!

Could you please fish it out and post it as promised earlier.
Like l said, it is lengthy and straight from my head. I may not be able to re-write such "Epistle" again (and l may not even have he patience) but l think it will be of benefit to all and sundry.

Cheers and expecting a positive response from you.,

Lastpage

Seun and his bot.
The post you sent before is in your profile. Go to your profile and click on your posts to see it but if you repost again, you might get band again.
@topic, many mentally unstable people walk amongst us. We just cant tell from the physical appearance they present to us. But they are everywhere, those sick sadists, serving as lecturers, teachers, employers, husbands. . . . .

Seun and his bot.
The post you sent before is in your profile. Go to your profile and click on your posts to see it but if you repost again, you might get band again.
@topic, many mentally unstable people walk amongst us. We just cant tell from the physical appearance they present to us. But they are everywhere, those sick sadists, serving as lecturers, teachers, employers, husbands. . . . .

Thanks Fellis, appreciated!

Useless cow. She thinks she is still in Nigeria were you hire a full grown woman to wash your 16 year old daughters drawers and then slap her around if you are not satisfied with her service. She will get a long time in jail to think of her actions.