Opinion ID: 1249305
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Events Leading to Defendants' Arrest

Text: Defendants, who have no criminal records, first attracted law enforcement attention on May 13, 2007. Shortly after 6:00 a.m. on that day, employees of a Long Island donut shop called 911 to request assistance for a seemingly homeless woman. The woman, who was dressed only in pants and a towel, had used hand gestures and halting words to convey to shop employees that she had been struck repeatedly in the face by her master. With the aid of an interpreter, federal and local authorities learned from the woman that she was a native of Indonesia who, since February 5, 2002, had worked as a domestic servant for the defendants. The woman explained that she received no direct payment for her labor; rather, defendants sent $100 per month to her daughter in Indonesia. Throughout her years of forced servitude, she was not permitted to leave the defendants' home, was forced to sleep on a floor mat, and rarely received adequate amounts of food. Moreover, she alleged that she experienced routine physical abuse at the hands of Varsha Sabhnani and with the knowledge of Mahender Sabhnani. This abuse purportedly included beatings with a stick, flesh cuts made with a small knife, and burns inflicted by throwing scalding water. Law enforcement officers observed  and subsequently photographed  dozens of scars and bruises on the woman's face, neck, back, chest, and arms, which she attributed to the described abuse. The woman advised the officers that another Indonesian woman was also then working at the defendants' home under similar forced conditions. Based on this information, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant that same day at the defendants' home. There they found the second Indonesian woman hiding in a small closet, and they seized various items that appeared to corroborate the account of physical abuse. In response to questions posed by law enforcement officers, defendants admitted knowing that the two Indonesian women were illegally present in the United States. The following day, May 14, defendants were arrested on forced labor charges.