The Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office charged a Palolo couple Friday with felony labor trafficking of a young girl and her mother.
Pomerrine Robert, 29, and Kevin Robert, 41, are accused of bringing the two to Hawaii from Guam, forcing them to perform work and taking away their passports.
They are being held in lieu of $250,000 bail.
The Roberts are each charged with two counts of first-degree labor trafficking, a Class A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
“Human trafficking, whether for labor or sex, is an abhorrent crime that deserves the full attention of all levels of law enforcement: federal, state and county,” Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm said in a written statement.
“Trafficking victims often bear invisible scars that stay with them for the rest of their lives,” he said. “My administration is dedicated to stopping trafficking in all of its forms, and this case is just the beginning of our efforts.”
He said the department recently hired an investigator dedicated to trafficking crimes.
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