House of Horrors: “The defendants were supposed to provide a safe home for the children, but instead the two youngsters were held hostage and forced to work long hours on behalf of the couple,” said Queens DA Richard Brown.
A Flushing couple, Sook Yeong Park and her husband Jeong Taek Lee – have been sentenced for their roles in forcing two youngsters to work without compensation, doing housework and other chores over the course of six years, starting in January 2010.
The defendants were entrusted with the care and education of two Korean children, and right from the beginning, they forced the children do their bidding – including performing body massages and pedicures.
According to DA Richard Brown, “The defendants were supposed to provide a safe home for the children, but instead the two youngsters were held hostage and forced to work long hours on behalf of the couple. The children had their passports seized and using fear, intimidation and actual physical force, the youngsters were coerced into doing numerous household chores and to work outside the home as well. On payday, the youngsters had to turn over their earnings to the couple.
The defendants plead guilty in July to two counts of labor trafficking. Queens Supreme Court Justice Joseph Zayas sentenced Park to two to six years in prison, and Lee to five years probation for his role.
According to the charges in the case, the two victims – a sister and brother – were brought to the United States from Korea and began living with Park and Lee. At the time the sister was 11 and her brother 9. The children’s passports were taken from them and the young girl was forced to work almost daily after school for approximately ten hours doing housework, in addition to giving Park back and foot massages, manicures and pedicures.
A little over three years after their arrival, beginning in April 2013 and continuing through January 2016, the young girl had to work various jobs outside the home – including in a grocery store, a nail salon, a restaurant and as a babysitter – and was forced to turn over her earnings to the couple. Beginning in August 2015, the younger sibling was also required to work at a grocery store for at least one day a month and had to hand over his pay to Park and Lee. The two children were told that they had to work to pay for their living expenses, even though, their parents were sending money to the couple for their care.
The children were not allowed to have any contact with their parents without Park being present and coaching the youngsters on what to say.
Between January 2010 and January 2016, the older sibling was forced to sleep on the floor in a small closet and her brother slept on a bedroom floor. During that time, defendant Park routinely hit them with objects, slapped them or stepped on their their legs and kicked them.
The forced labor came to light when the children reported the physical abuse to school officials, who then contacted the police.
