According to CaribWorldNews, the 52-year-old Haitian national Maude Paulin was sentenced on May 20 to 87 months in jail for forcing the young Simone Celestin to work in her home without pay.
Maude Paulin is also set to spend three years in a supervised release program. Her ex-husband, Saintfort Paulin, has been sentenced to 18 months of probation, including six months in home confinement. He has been fined $500. Together with his wife, the Paulins have been ordered to pay $162,765 in restitution to Celestin.
Maude Paulin regretted her actions in court and insisted she wanted only good things for the girl.
“I love Simone with all my heart,” she told Senior U.S. District Judge Jose A. Gonzalez Jr. at a sentencing hearing. “I regret it. I blame myself.”
The Paulins, along with Maude Paulin’s mother, Evelyn Theodore, were found guilty on March 4, 2008 of conspiring to violate the victim’s civil rights and of forcing Celestin to work for them. The jury also found Maude Paulin, Theodore and Saintfort Paulin guilty of harboring an undocumented immigrant. A fourth defendant, Claire Telasco, was acquitted of the conspiracy and forced labor charges.
You can read my posts about the case here.
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