Couple Enslaved Illegal Migrant For 3 Years, Made Her 'Work 24 Hours A Day'

A couple in Australia pleaded guilty Thursday to keeping an illegal immigrant woman as a slave for three years, and making her work as an unpaid cleaner and carer for their children.

The couple even hired a detective to chase her down when she ran away unable to bear the hardships, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Joshua and Shiela McAleer, from Rockdale in Sydney’s south, pleaded guilty to the offenses during a sentencing hearing, and offered to pay the victim, who is from the Philippines, $70,000 (USD 54,114.462).

They face charges of conducting a business involving the forced labor of another person and harboring an unlawful non-citizen, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The incident happened between May 2013, from the day she arrived at the couple's home, and October 30, 2016, when she fled the house. The victim, whose identity has not been revealed, was in Australia on a tourist visa.

The couple had reportedly paid for the victim's passport, plane ticket and visa.

Even though the victim's visa prohibited her from getting a job, the woman was forced to work for the family and their grocery shop. When her visa expired, the couple told her she cannot return to the Philippines until she repaid her initial travel costs.

The court documents stated Shiela also threatened the victim she knew "people in the Philippines in the police and higher up" who she can hire to harm the latter and her family.

In her victim impact statement, the woman said she was told her family in the Philippines would be paid $530 (USD 409.83) while she worked for the couple. "I did not know when I came that I would have to work 24 hours a day. I did not get paid for my work," the woman said.

"I felt like a slave but I didn’t say anything. I feel it would have been better not to come [to Australia]," she said, describing Shiela as "cruel."

The victim said she was too scared to leave, and that Sheila limited her movements outside the home. She was also discouraged from making friends and told to use a fake name in public, 9News reported.

The woman managed to flee the house in 2016. On learning that she escaped, the couple hired a private detective to find her. Joshua told the detective the woman was his fiancee and he wanted to find her.

The incident came to light after federal police received a tip-off in July 2017 from Anti-Slavery Australia. The couple was issued court attendance notices in October 2019.

Crown prosecutor Jennifer Single told the court the victim "had such little money she couldn't even get a taxi to the airport, let alone buy herself a ticket to leave the country," 9News reported.

The couple's sentencing will be held on June 11.