Couple charged with holding undocumented worker

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By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Federal agents have arrested an Ellenwood couple charged with keeping an undocumented worker and forcing her to be a housekeeper and nanny for nearly two years.

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Authorities say that Michael and Juna Babb enticed an unidentified woman from Swaziland, Africa and forced her to work in their home as a maid and nanny, as well as other friends, to pay off her travelling debts. The Babbs live in Holly Hill, a quiet subdivision in Ellenwood.

Mashaun D. Simon/AJC Authorities say that Michael and Juna Babb enticed an unidentified woman from Swaziland, Africa and forced her to work in their home as a maid and nanny, as well as other friends, to pay off her travelling debts. The Babbs live in Holly Hill, a quiet subdivision in Ellenwood.

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Juna Gwendolyn Babb, 54, and Michael J. Babb, 53, were indicted last week by a federal grand jury in Atlanta. They were charged with conspiracy, forced labor and document servitude.

The pair have been accused of confiscating someone's passport and visa as well as hiding an undocumented worker for financial gain, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

The FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office, or ICE, arrested the Babbs on Wednesday following their indictment, which had been sealed.

They appeared before a U.S. magistrate, who set their bail at $20,000.

The pair have been accused of convincing a woman to come to their home from the Kingdom of Swaziland by promising her a "lucrative, short-term opportunity to provide catering services at the wedding of a family member," the justice department said.

When the woman arrived, the couple took her passport and return airline ticket and told her that she needed to repay them for the cost of travel to the United States, the DOJ said.

The woman was made to clean the homes of friends and associates of the Babbs and also help with Michael Babb's construction business, the DOJ said. She also worked long hours and either was not paid or received very little money, the DOJ said.

"The defendants in this case trafficked a human being, using the victim's desire for a better life to lure her into a situation where she was deprived of her basic human rights," said Kenneth Smith, special agent in charge of ICE's Atlanta investigation's office.