Month: May 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

TUCSON, Ariz. – Isaiah Lorenzo Brinkley, 21, of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Scott H. Rash to 75 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Brinkley previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit, Placing Life in Jeopardy, and Resulting in Death.

On January 26, 2020, Brinkley coordinated for G.J.H. to transport two undocumented noncitizens in exchange for payment. Late that evening, G.J.H. drove to an immigration checkpoint on State Route 85 near Why, Arizona. Border patrol Agents referred G.J.H. to secondary inspection. Instead of handing over the keys to the vehicle, G.J.H. fled from the immigration checkpoint and crashed the vehicle. G.J.H. and the two passengers, both Colombian citizens, were ejected from the vehicle. G.J.H. and one of the passengers died at the scene.

For several weeks after the fatal crash, Brinkley continued to coordinate and engage in alien smuggling for profit, often placing passengers in trunks of vehicles or instructing others to do so.

Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection’s U.S. Border Patrol conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca S. Garvey, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:            CR-21-00470-TUC-SHR
RELEASE NUMBER:    2022-071_Brinkley

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal jury in sitting in Richmond, Virginia, found defendants Zahida Aman, Mohammad Nauman Chaudhri and Mohammad Rehan Chaudhri, guilty of conspiracy to commit forced labor for compelling the domestic labor of a Pakistani women for 12 years. The jury further found defendant Aman guilty of forced labor and document servitude, and defendant Rehan Chaudhri guilty of forced labor.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Divison and U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia made the announcement.  

“The defendants exploited the victim’s trust and inflicted cruel and inhumane physical and mental abuse on her, all so they could keep her working in their home as their domestic servant,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke. “Human trafficking is a disgraceful and unacceptable crime, and this verdict should send the very clear message that the Justice Department will investigate and vigorously prosecute human traffickers and help secure justice for survivors.”

“The defendants exploited someone who should have been a loved family member to force her to work in their home for over 14 years,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Forced labor, the modern-day equivalent of slavery, has no place in our country or district, and we will stop at nothing to prosecute those that commit these or similar crimes. Let this conviction serve as a light to survivors impacted by labor trafficking and as a deterrent to those conspiring to commit heinous labor trafficking crimes.”

“The FBI is committed to working with our partners to protect the civil rights of all persons, investigate and prosecute allegations of abuse, and assist the victims of these crimes throughout the process,” said Special Agent in Charge Stanley M. Meador of the FBI Richmond Field Office. “The strength and perseverance of this victim and the investigative team should be commended; and we encourage any community member who knows of or suspects this type of abuse is occurring to report it to authorities immediately.”

Following a seven-day trial, the jury convicted all of the defendants of conspiracy to commit forced labor, convicted two of the defendants of forced labor, and convicted defendant Zahida Aman of document servitude. According to the evidence presented in court, defendant Zahida Aman arranged for her son’s marriage to the victim in 2002. The victim moved to the United States and lived in a house in Midlothian, Virginia, with her husband and the three defendants (the husband’s mother and his two brothers). The defendants compelled the victim to serve the family as a domestic servant, using physical and verbal abuse, restricting communication with her family in Pakistan, confiscating her immigration documentation and money and eventually threatening to separate her from her children by deporting her to Pakistan.

The defendants slapped, kicked, and pushed the victim, even beat her with wooden boards, and on one occasion hog-tied her hands and feet and dragged her down the stairs in front of her children. Even after the victim’s husband moved away, the defendants kept the victim in their Virginia home, often forcing her to perform increasingly laborious tasks, including stripping and staining a deck by hand, mowing the one-acre lawn with a push mower, hand-washing and line-drying area rugs, painting the inside and outside of their two-story home, picking out debris from car carpets with a tweezer and constructing a concrete walkway in front of the home — a task that required the victim to haul 80-pound bags of concrete before mixing and pouring cement.  

The evidence further showed that the defendants required the victim to work every day, beginning early each morning. They restricted her food, forbade her from learning to drive or speaking to anyone except the defendants’ family members and prohibited her from calling her family in Pakistan.

The sentencing has not yet been scheduled. Defendants Aman and Rehan Chaudhri face a maximum sentence of 20 years for forced labor. The convictions for conspiracy to commit forced labor and for document servitude carry a maximum sentence of five years each. Restitution in this case is mandatory under the law.

The FBI investigated the case. It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Leah Branch of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Miller and Shea Gibbons for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A man who sexually abused a 7-year-old child was convicted Friday in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

A federal jury found Robert William Perry II, 31, of Tulsa, guilty of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor in Indian Country and of abusive sexual contact of a minor in Indian Country.

“Robert Perry exploited a young child’s trust when he repeatedly sexually abused her for over a year. I am thankful for her courageous testimony this week which helped ensure Perry’s conviction,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “I am also thankful that a vigilant teacher took action to protect her young student from further abuse. Because they often build positive relationships with their students, school faculty are frequently the first to learn about and report child physical and sexual abuse. I appreciate their partnership in the fight to protect children and to bring their abusers to justice.”

“The defendant preyed on an innocent child solely for his own pleasure, without regard to the grievous and long-lasting harm his depraved conduct would cause,” said Special Agent in Charge Edward Gray of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office. “Let it be known that the FBI and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate crimes against children, and as evidenced by today’s verdict, neither will the community.” 

From May 6, 2017, to May 15, 2018, Perry sexually abused the minor. Prosecutors contended that Perry would coerce the young child into sex acts then “reward” her with candy, other items, and the opportunity to play video games in what the defendant termed as his “man cave,” a closet where he regularly played video games and watched pornography. Most of the abuse occurred in the closet while the child was in the defendant’s care. The child eventually told a friend at school about the abuse. Another student overheard the discussion and reported it to her teacher. The teacher had a conversation with the victim, who then disclosed the abuse and wrote about it. The teacher reported the crimes to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

In a forensic interview, the young child was initially hesitant to speak about the abuse but indicated that Perry made her keep secrets. She eventually drew a picture of the abuse when she was examined by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. She also testified about the abuse at a state trial and this week’s federal trial.

In closing, federal prosecutors asked the jury to focus on the victim, reminding them that her description of the abuse to authorities had remained consistent. Prosecutors further explained that children don’t just make up details and vivid descriptions of sexual abuse nor retell their story repeatedly for four years simply to gain attention. They asked the jury to follow the evidence, to believe the victim’s testimony and to find Perry guilty.

Perry was previously convicted in Tulsa County District Court in 2020, but the conviction was later dismissed because the state lacked jurisdiction to prosecute the case. Perry is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation and the crimes occurred within the tribe’s reservation. Based on the Supreme Court’s decision in McGirt v Oklahoma, only the federal government or tribes have jurisdiction to prosecute cases that occur in Indian Country and that involve either Native American victims or defendants.

The FBI and Tulsa Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex M. Scott and Valeria G. Luster are prosecuting the case.