20750: (Hermantin) Miami-Herald-Couple accused of enslaving girl (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Wed, Mar. 24, 2004

FORT LAUDERDALE

Couple accused of enslaving girl

A Haitian husband and wife are charged with concealing an alien after
turning a young girl into a household slave at their former Pembroke Pines
home.

BY NATALIE P. McNEAL

nmcneal@herald.com


A federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale has indicted a former Pembroke Pines
couple who allegedly smuggled a young girl from Haiti and used her as a
household slave, the U.S. attorney's office announced Tuesday.

Marie and Willie Pompee are charged with concealing an alien, which, upon
conviction, can mean a prison term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to
$250,000.

The Pompees, originally from Haiti, allegedly harbored the young Haitian
girl in their $400,000 Pembroke Pines home from the time she was 9. She came
to the attention of school and law enforcement authorities in 1999, when she
was 12.

Only Marie Pompee has been arrested. Willy Pompee and their son, Willy Jr.,
who is accused of molesting the girl, have fled to Haiti. Willy Jr. has an
outstanding warrant for sexual assault.

The girl, whose mother had once worked as a maid for members of the Pompee
family in Haiti, told authorities she was fed very little, forced to clean
house, made to sleep on the floor and repeatedly sexually assaulted by her
''stepbrother,'' Willy Pompee Jr. The girl also said she was called a
''slut'' and ''whore,'' and told she was ugly and stupid.

`RESTAVECS'

The courts alleged she lived the life of a restavec, a Creole word meaning
''to stay with'' that describes a form of servitude forced on many poor
Haitian children in exchange for room and board, and sometimes an education.

Marie Pompee's attorney denies that his client ever endangered the girl, who
is now in foster care.

''Ms. Pompee took care of that orphaned child,'' said her attorney, Martin
Roth of Miami.

``Should she have turned her in to immigration service? She chose to care
for her, and as a result she has those charges.''

The Pompees had run a clothing business. Marie Pompee, who now lives in
Miami, is being subsidized by family members.

Restavecs are young Haitians sent to live with wealthier people, often --
but not always -- relatives in Haiti. They tend to miss school and lack
interaction with other children.

A 1998 shooting incident shed light on the phenomenon. A 12-year-old Haitian
girl was killed when she was hit by a stray bullet while toiling at an
Allapattah flea market, selling toys and electronics.

Investigators learned she lived with an unofficial guardian and hadn't
attended school in six months.

Authorities were tipped to the girl, dubbed Little Hope in the Haitian
community, after she telephoned a modeling agency after seeing its
television commercial.

The girl talked about her unusual living arrangement.

Workers at the agency called the Florida Department of Children & Families,
and visited the girl's school in Opa-locka, Florida International Academy.

The principal told police the girl was constantly late, never brought school
supplies and had no appetite.

Days earlier, the principal said, the girl had come to school clutching her
stomach in pain. She said her stepbrother kicked her in the stomach.

A physical exam later showed she was sexually active.

She was placed in state custody.

NO ABUSE CHARGES

Roth noted that the criminal charge, coming five years after authorities
first intervened, did not involve actual abuse.

''None of the major charges was filed,'' Roth said.

It is estimated that 18,000 to 20,000 people are brought into the United
States each year for purposes of sexual exploitation or forced labor, the
U.S. attorney's office said.

Herald staff writer Noah Bierman contributed to this article.

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