A US court has convicted three members of an Indian family here on charges of sexually abusing their daughter-in-law who came to America after an arranged marriage and was threatened to work as a slave.
Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said Vishal Jagota, 34, his mother Parveen Jagota, 57 and sister Rajani Jagota, 31 were found guilty after a bench trial of labour trafficking and assault charges for using intimidation, threats and physical violence to force the young woman into a life of ‘servitude and sexual abuse’.
Parveen Jagota and Rajani Jagota face up to seven years in state prison when sentenced on May 22, 2012 before Judge William Nelson, while Vishal Jagota faces up to one year in the Rockland County jail. Assistant District Attorney Arthur Ferraro said the case marked the first indictments, trial and convictions under New York State's new Labour Trafficking Law.
"These convictions underscore our serious commitment to prosecuting those defendants who would prey on vulnerable - and in many cases young - victims," Zugibe said.
"Human trafficking is a violent and degrading crime that will not be tolerated."
The victim, now 25-years-old, is an Indian citizen who was brought to the US five years ago after an arranged marriage with Vishal Jagota.
The family used intimidation, physical and sexual abuse and manipulation to force the victim to work as a "round-the-clock servant, performing a variety of household chores, cooking, child care and other tasks under threats of violence," according to court documents.