Woman Enslaved by Physicians for Almost Two Decades
Jim Kouri, CPP
June 01, 2006
A Brookfield, Wisconsin couple and their son, who kept a domestic servant in their home under slave-like conditions for close to two decades, were convicted last Friday on human trafficking charges.
A federal jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts against three members of the wealthy family for human trafficking. Jefferson Sr. and Elnora Calimlim, both physicians in Milwaukee, were charged with using threats of serious harm and physical restraint to coerce a 40-year-old Filipino woman to serve as their domestic servant for almost 20 years.
The indictment also charged the couple and their son, Jefferson Jr., with alien harboring for financial gain. Jefferson Calimlim, Jr. was also charged with making false statements to federal investigators.
At trial, the government proved that from 1985 through Sept. 29, 2004, the defendants employed a female Filipino national as a domestic worker who was responsible for caring for the Calimlim children, cleaning the house and preparing the family meals. The Filipino woman lived at the Calimlim residence and was promised a salary that would be "kept in an account."
She was working to send money home to her family in the Philippines. However, she did not have access to the account or know its whereabouts. For 19 years, Jefferson Sr. and Elnora Calimlim coerced the victim to work long hours, seven days a week as their domestic servant for little money.
The Calimlims threatened the victim with deportation and imprisonment if she disobeyed them, and kept her inside of their home, not allowing her to socialize, communicate freely with the outside world, or leave the house unsupervised. The victim was required to hide in her basement bedroom whenever non-family members were present in the house.
"Preying on this woman's hope for a better life, this couple instead forced her into a life of involuntary servitude," said Wan J. Kim, assistant attorney general.
"The Justice Department takes these crimes seriously and is committed to prosecuting those involved in the systematic abuse and degradation of others," she said.
The case against the Calimlims was initiated from a call made to Immigration and Customs Enforcement national hotline. ICE law enforcement personnel staff the hotline around the clock to take leads from the public about suspicious activity or reports of crimes. Leads generated from hotline calls have resulted in the arrests of a wide range of criminals, including aggravated felons, smugglers, fugitives, sexual predators and aliens who have re-entered the country after being deported.
Defense attorneys acknowledged that the family went to great lengths to keep her hidden in the home, but said that was done to protect her, not coerce her. They said the woman, Irma Martinez, agreed to the rules because she wanted to work for them rather than live in the Philippines.
"It is a basic and fundamental human right to be free, and no person should ever be forced to live in a world of fear, virtual isolation and servitude," said Brian Falvey, resident agent-in-charge of the Milwaukee ICE office.
"[Their] conviction is a testament to our solemn commitment to protect those who cannot protect themselves. The exploitation of the illegal work force is modern-day slavery, and ICE will aggressively investigate those who engage in trafficking human beings," he added.
Jefferson Sr. and Elnora Calimlim each face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison, mandatory restitution, and $1.25 million in fines. Jefferson Calimlim Jr. faces up to five years in prison, restitution, and $250,000 in fines. The government is also seeking forfeiture of the Calimlims' house as an "instrumentality of the crime," since it was used to enslave the victim.
Defense attorneys said they plan to appeal the convictions, claiming the case was "rife with issues" because the forced labor charge was enacted in 2000 and largely untested in the courts.
A federal jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts against three members of the wealthy family for human trafficking. Jefferson Sr. and Elnora Calimlim, both physicians in Milwaukee, were charged with using threats of serious harm and physical restraint to coerce a 40-year-old Filipino woman to serve as their domestic servant for almost 20 years.
The indictment also charged the couple and their son, Jefferson Jr., with alien harboring for financial gain. Jefferson Calimlim, Jr. was also charged with making false statements to federal investigators.
At trial, the government proved that from 1985 through Sept. 29, 2004, the defendants employed a female Filipino national as a domestic worker who was responsible for caring for the Calimlim children, cleaning the house and preparing the family meals. The Filipino woman lived at the Calimlim residence and was promised a salary that would be "kept in an account."
She was working to send money home to her family in the Philippines. However, she did not have access to the account or know its whereabouts. For 19 years, Jefferson Sr. and Elnora Calimlim coerced the victim to work long hours, seven days a week as their domestic servant for little money.
The Calimlims threatened the victim with deportation and imprisonment if she disobeyed them, and kept her inside of their home, not allowing her to socialize, communicate freely with the outside world, or leave the house unsupervised. The victim was required to hide in her basement bedroom whenever non-family members were present in the house.
"Preying on this woman's hope for a better life, this couple instead forced her into a life of involuntary servitude," said Wan J. Kim, assistant attorney general.
"The Justice Department takes these crimes seriously and is committed to prosecuting those involved in the systematic abuse and degradation of others," she said.
The case against the Calimlims was initiated from a call made to Immigration and Customs Enforcement national hotline. ICE law enforcement personnel staff the hotline around the clock to take leads from the public about suspicious activity or reports of crimes. Leads generated from hotline calls have resulted in the arrests of a wide range of criminals, including aggravated felons, smugglers, fugitives, sexual predators and aliens who have re-entered the country after being deported.
Defense attorneys acknowledged that the family went to great lengths to keep her hidden in the home, but said that was done to protect her, not coerce her. They said the woman, Irma Martinez, agreed to the rules because she wanted to work for them rather than live in the Philippines.
"It is a basic and fundamental human right to be free, and no person should ever be forced to live in a world of fear, virtual isolation and servitude," said Brian Falvey, resident agent-in-charge of the Milwaukee ICE office.
"[Their] conviction is a testament to our solemn commitment to protect those who cannot protect themselves. The exploitation of the illegal work force is modern-day slavery, and ICE will aggressively investigate those who engage in trafficking human beings," he added.
Jefferson Sr. and Elnora Calimlim each face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison, mandatory restitution, and $1.25 million in fines. Jefferson Calimlim Jr. faces up to five years in prison, restitution, and $250,000 in fines. The government is also seeking forfeiture of the Calimlims' house as an "instrumentality of the crime," since it was used to enslave the victim.
Defense attorneys said they plan to appeal the convictions, claiming the case was "rife with issues" because the forced labor charge was enacted in 2000 and largely untested in the courts.
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