#610: Man charged with abusing family's young housemaid (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From:nozier@tradewind.net

Published Thursday, September 30, 1999, in the Miami Herald 

 Man charged with abusing family's young housemaid 
BY AJOWA NZINGA IFATEYO

 A 12-year-old girl brought from Haiti to work as a maid for a Pembroke
Pines family is in state custody after she told police a 20-year-old man
has repeatedly forced her to have sex since she was 9. Today, police
said, they plan to arrest Willy Pompee Jr., of 17228 SW 13th St.,
 Pembroke Pines, on sexual battery charges. The girl's situation came to
the attention of school officials at Florida International  Academy, an
Opa-locka charter school where she is a student, on Tuesday when
 the principal noticed her holding her stomach.  The girl was reluctant
to talk at first, but a man and woman who had helped her with money and
school supplies persuaded her to tell her story.  She told police that
Pompee had been forcing her to have sex since they lived in
 Miami-Lakes more than two years ago.  School officials called Opa-locka
Police, who took the child to the Broward Sexual Assault Treatment
Center in Fort Lauderdale. A medical exam revealed that the child was
sexually active, according to the police report. The Department
 of Children and Families took custody of the child. Broward County DCF
spokeswoman Lynette Beal would not comment on the case, citing
confidentiality rules. She also would not confirm or deny whether any
 prior reports of abuse had been made concerning the girl.

 WARRANT FOR ARREST 

 Pembroke Pines police went to the Pompee home on Wednesday, but a man
 who answered the door would not let them in, Pembroke Pines Detective
Glenn Ikalina said. Police were expected to return with an arrest
warrant today.  Ikalina would not comment further, and it could not be
determined whether the parents knew of the abuse. No one answered the
phone at the Pompee family home or Miami business on Wednesday.
 The girl told Opa-locka police that she was 6 years old when her
mother, a maid for Willy Pompee Sr., died in Haiti. Another family
brought her to the United States as a maid using a false name and gave
her to the Pompees, according to the Opa-locka Police report. 
 The girl said she sleeps on a mattress on the floor in the family guest
room, washes her own clothes and cleans the house. Willy Jr. started
having sex with her when they lived in Miami Lakes, she told police.
 Willy Jr. often went to the girl's bedroom at night, taking off her
clothes and sexually assaulting her, the report said.

 TIRED FROM CHORES 

 The practice continued when the family moved to Pembroke Pines. The
girl said the younger Pompee would often have sex with her while she was
cleaning the house, or while the other children were in the pool. She
said she is unable to do her homework because she has to clean the house
and sometimes falls asleep while she is cleaning.  At Florida
International Academy, where she apparently just started the school
 year, she is often late to class, never comes to school with supplies,
and does not eat, according to the report. School staff would buy her
pizza, candy and chips, but the girl could not eat, even after she
tried.  Principal Sonya Mitchell could not be reached for comment. But
according to the report, Mitchell told police that the child had two
visitors who brought her money and school supplies. The man and woman,
Renee Falscho and Randy Katz, brought her $100 and supplies to the
school, located at 13254 NW 38th Ave.  Police said they persuaded the
girl to tell her story. Reached by telephone, Falscho said she would
check to see if she should talk about the case. She did, however, want
to know the girl's status. Katz could not be reached.