Saudi princess charged with human trafficking, possible Filipino victims

By Steve Angeles, ABS-CBN North America Bureau

July 11, 2013

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A woman, described as a Saudi princess by prosecutors, appeared at an Orange County courthouse this morning to face human trafficking charges.

Mashael Alayban appeared in court, to ask for a postponement of her hearing to late July.

Alayban, whom prosecutors said is married to a Saudi prince, allegedly took domestic servants with her from Saudi to the U.S. last May. Upon their arrival, she reportedly withheld their passports and overworked them, while paying them low wages. The domestic workers allegedly worked round-the-clock, cooking and cleaning and caring their Alayban’s children.

One of them is a 30-year old unidentified Kenyan woman, who escaped and alerted authorities.

“My client was a slave and she wasn’t able to freely move about. She was intimidated,” said Steve Baric, attorney for the Kenyan woman.

Prosecutors said Alayban also held four Filipino women, under a similar arrangement.

So far, charges have only been filed in the Kenyan woman’s case, not in the case of the four Filipino women.

“They were four other women in the residence and they were, we believe, from the Philippines. They were working there as servants as well. But we haven’t, at this point, completed our investigation,” said Tony Rackaukus, Orange County District Attorney.

Alayban’s lawyers have argued that this is a work contract dispute. The Saudi Consulate has reportedly offered a million dollars toward her five million dollar bail.

If released, she will have to wear a GPS monitoring device and her travels outside of Orange County will be restricted.

The Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles is following up with authorities to check on the condition of the four Filipino workers.

For more information, you may contact Steve Angeles at steve_angeles@abs-cbn.com.