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Queens Woman Allegedly Kept Two Korean Children As Slaves
By
Miranda Katz
Published Jan 12, 2016
Modified Jan 12, 2016
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By
Miranda Katz
Published Jan 12, 2016
Modified Jan 12, 2016
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A Flushing woman allegedly kept two Korean children in her house as slaves for six years, forcing them to do housework, give her massages, and work until 2 a.m. each night before going to sleep on the floor, the Queens District Attorney said today.
According to DA Richard Brown, the two victims, then a 10-year-old female and her 8-year-old brother, came to New York from South Korea in 2010 and were to be hosted by Sook Yeong Park, 42. When they arrived at her house, she allegedly confiscated their passports and promptly moved to a new house in Flushing, cutting off all contact between the children and their parents and putting them to work. Park has been charged with labor trafficking, third-degree assault, and endangering the welfare of a child.
Prosecutors say the female victim initially worked for ten hours every day after school, cleaning the house and giving Park back massages, foot massages, and mani-pedis; at one point, it's alleged that she had to perform a five-hour massage while Park watched TV. Once the female victim turned 14, the minimum age to work in New York, Park made her start working at a nearby grocery store for at least two days a week, making $10 an hour — all of which went to her captor, the indictment alleges.
Prosecutors say that when the male victim turned 14 in August of 2015, he, too, went to work. Park reportedly told them that their parents in Korea were not sending her any money, and so their earnings were compensation for her looking after them.
Over the six years the siblings were in Park's captivity, they were regularly subject to physical abuse, according to the DA's report:
Park routinely beat them by striking them with objects, slapping them, stepping on their legs and kicking them about the body for not obeying her orders, causing them to fear her.... In November 2015, Park allegedly scratched the female victim about the legs with a nail clipper, causing scratches and substantial pain, because the manicure and pedicure that the victim was giving her were not up to her standards.
Two months later, on January 4, 2016, Park alleged became angry with the female victim and began kicking her on her leg, causing swelling and substantial pain, and the following day, Park became angry with her and cut off her hair and kicked her in the head, causing swelling and substantial pain.
The alleged enslavement came to light over the the past week, when the siblings, now 16 and 14, reported the abuse to their school. The assistant principal, who had noticed bruising on the female victim's legs, went to Park's house and demanded that she give him their passports; he also accompanied the siblings to the grocery store where they worked so that they could collect their earnings. School officials notified the police, and Park was arraigned on January 9th. She's being held on a $10,000 bond/$2,500 cash bail and will appear in court again on February 16th.
According to the DA's report, last week was the first time the female victim spoke to her mother in Korea since 2013.
Tagged
child abuse
flushing
queens
Miranda Katz
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