Niece must be paid for forced labor

TACOMA – A Pierce County couple was sentenced to home confinement Wednesday for forcing their immigrant niece to work long hours in their home and at the family espresso stand, and they also must pay her $65,000 for her labor.

Abdenasser “Sammy” Ennassime, 47, and his wife, Tonya, 41, pleaded guilty in September to federal charges of forced labor and harboring an illegal alien, respectively. As part of a plea deal, the U.S. attorney’s office agreed to recommend home confinement, three years of probation and $65,226 in back wages.

Sammy Ennassime received six months home confinement; his wife, 90 days. In a letter to the court, Ennassime said he was stern with his niece – “maybe too stern” – and added, “She grew to be a responsible young woman and I was proud of her, but I did not want her to become wild.”

The girl, Lamia Ennassime, attended the sentencing hearing and had asked the judge not to impose prison time. She came from Morocco to stay with her aunt and uncle at age 12 in September 2001, with the understanding that she would help care for their young son and help with the housework in exchange for lodging and a chance for a good education. She made breakfast and dinner, did laundry, cleaned the house, and worked weekends and summers without pay at the espresso stand.

After her six-month visa expired, her uncle used her illegal status to threaten her, prosecutors said.