Man in Slave Case Sentenced to 3 Years — A Long Island man convicted of helping his wife keep two Indonesian housekeepers as virtual slaves was sentenced on Friday to three years and four months in prison, ending a trial that shed light on the often little-seen exploitation and abuse of domestic workers.

Man in Slave Case Sentenced to 3 Years
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/28/nyregion/28slave.html?ref=nyregion

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 28, 2008
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — A Long Island man convicted of helping his
wife keep two Indonesian housekeepers as virtual slaves was sentenced
on Friday to three years and four months in prison, ending a trial
that shed light on the often little-seen exploitation and abuse of
domestic workers.

The man, Mahender Sabhnani, 52, an international perfume maker, was
also fined $12,500. He was convicted in December on a 12-count federal
indictment that included charges of forced labor, conspiracy,
involuntary servitude and harboring aliens.

The victims testified that they were beaten with brooms and umbrellas,
slashed with knives and forced to climb stairs and to take freezing
showers for misdeeds that included sleeping late or stealing food from
the trash because they were poorly fed.

On Thursday, Mr. Sabhnani tearfully watched as his wife, Varsha, was
sentenced to 11 years in prison. On Friday, she dabbed her eyes as she
watched her husband meet his own fate in Federal District Court.

Prosecutors contended that Varsha Sabhnani was primarily responsible
for inflicting years of abuse on the poorly educated servants.

Her husband, they said, allowed the abuse and benefited from the work
the women performed in the couple’s $2 million Muttontown home.

.