A couple who enslaved a woman for eight years have had the proceeds from the sale of their home forfeited and have been ordered to pay $140,000 in combined penalties.
In 2016, the Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT), led by the AFP, restrained the Mount Waverly property after the couple was charged with slavery offences.
The couple—a 61-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman—were each found guilty in a 2021 jury trial for enslaving an Indian woman who had entered Australia on a tourist visa. They were convicted of possessing a slave and exercising powers over the woman that attached to the rights of ownership. The woman was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment, eligible for parole in four years, and the man received six years, eligible for parole in three years.
The house had been sold for $1.4 million in 2016. After paying the mortgage and sale expenses, the couple’s equity of approximately $475,000 was held by the Official Trustee and later forfeited in 2022. Around $485,000 from the sale was granted to the victim as an ex gratia payment.
The CACT also sought pecuniary penalty orders against the couple for the financial benefits they gained from enslaving the woman. Stefan Jerga, National Manager of Criminal Assets Confiscation, Fraud, and Corruption, said, “This result highlights the unique breadth of the CACT’s work in targeting a wide range of criminal activity, including forced labour, and the importance of the Commonwealth’s Proceeds of Crime Act in preventing offenders from benefiting from their crimes.”
The couple agreed on October 9 to pay a combined pecuniary penalty of $140,000 in addition to the forfeited equity and accrued interest. Detective Sergeant Daisie Beckensall, Human Trafficking Southern Command Team Leader, added, “If you hold a person in domestic servitude, or commit other human trafficking offences, our investigators will work tirelessly to ensure offenders are found, put before the courts, and remove victims from harm.”
