Atlanta Minister Accused of 'Modern Day Slavery'

ATLANTA --

An Ellenwood minister and his wife were arrested and charged after authorities said they made a woman work for them and their friends for little or no money.

Federal Bureau of Investigation and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Juna Gwendolyn Babb, 54, and her minister husband, Michael J. Babb, 53, on Wednesday.

Officials said the Babbs enticed a woman to come to the United States from the Kingdom of Swaziland, Africa, by falsely promising her a lucrative, short-term opportunity to provide catering at a family member's wedding.

Once the victim arrived in the U.S., authorities said the couple made her their housekeeper and nanny through threats of arrest and imprisonment. Officials said the Babbs confiscated her passport and return airline ticket and told the victim she owed them for the costs of her travel.

The couple allegedly required the victim to clean the homes of their friends and associates, and to assist with Michael Babb's construction business, authorities said.

The indictment alleges that the defendants required the victim to work long hours every day of the week, for which the victim was grossly underpaid on the few occasions that she was paid at all.

"Many people are unaware that this form of modern day slavery still occurs in the United States," said Kenneth Smith, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Investigations in Atlanta. "The defendants in this case used the victim's desire for a better life to lure her into a situation where she was deprived of her basic human rights," said Smith.

The Babbs were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy, forced labor, document servitude, which is confiscating someone’s passport and visa, and harboring an alien for financial gain.

Bond was set at $20,000.

Copyright 2009 by . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.