Texas awards Cambodian woman $1.78M after she was forced into labor

[geovalin]

A federal jury in Texas awarded a Cambodian woman $1.78 million earlier this month after finding a Rockport couple illegally trafficked her to the United States and forced her to work in their doughnut shop. Sophy Treadway (aka Sophy Koem), 32, first filed the federal civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas Corpus Christi Division in August 2019.

 

On April 11, a jury found that Matthew, 56, and Sopheak, 47, Otero, as well as their business, Rockport Donuts (which also operates under the legal name Exxizz Foods Inc.), engaged in peonage, forced labor and trafficking of Treadway, who was born in Cambodia. The Oteros and their business were ordered by the jury to pay Treadway $282,282 in compensatory damages for her past labor and $1,500,000 in punitive damages.

 

Treadway’s Houston based attorney, Xenos Yuen, called the case an example of “Modern Day Slavery.”

 

read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501063760/texas-awards-cambodian-woman-1-78m-after-she-was-forced-into-labor/

 

[Berkshire]

Confusing story.  Did human trafficking occur?  And the victim is under indictment for....what exactly?  Seems like the "victim" stole money from the defendant and when caught, decided to sue for human trafficking.  Again, not real clear from the article.