Prosecutors say woman held as slave
Jury begins work in Al-Turki assault case
John Aguilar, Rocky Mountain News
Published June 30, 2006 at midnight
ARAPAHOE COUNTY - A Saudi man used deception and coercion in a deliberate effort to keep an Indonesian housekeeper captive in his Aurora home for more than four years, prosecutors told jurors in closing arguments Thursday.
Defense attorneys shot back that the prosecution had engaged in "Islamaphobia" during the nearly three-week trial of doctoral student Homaidan Al-Turki, stressing his Muslim faith rather than the facts.
"Instead of evidence, they want you to be afraid, they want you to be reviled," defense attorney John Richilano said, pointing to a mannequin dressed in a traditional female Muslim outfit that prosecutors used to illustrate the woman's isolation.
Al-Turki, 37, has been charged with kidnapping, extorting, and sexually abusing the 24-year-old woman, who came from Saudi Arabia six years ago as a cook and nanny.
Al-Turki's wife, Sarah Khonaizan, has already pleaded guilty to lesser charges.
Lead prosecutor Ann Tomsic said by keeping the woman's passport and not permitting her "to keep herself in a legal immigration status," Al-Turki effectively stripped her of her freedom.
"She's been made invisible," Tomsic told the jury. "Not just with veils, but using her youth, her naivete, her fear of authorities, and her fear of the defendant and his wife."
She said Al-Turki took advantage of his victim's isolation and fear by sexually assaulting her in various rooms in his home, culminating in a rape that stole her virginity.
"He's thinking if he's going to get caught (for hiring an illegal immigrant), he might as well get his bang for the buck," Tomsic said.
Richilano told the jury that the case came down to the credibility of the housekeeper's allegations, which he claimed were "unadorned by corroborating evidence."
He said the alleged victim didn't tell authorities she had been raped over the course of a dozen interviews after she was arrested for overstaying her visa in November 2004.
"There's no physical evidence, no scientific evidence, no DNA. Just (her) story that you have to buy - or not," Richilano said.
Richilano also noted that the compensation issue was no longer in question after the woman received more than $64,000 from Al-Turki as the result of a federal lawsuit.
He told the jury that the woman may have concocted her allegations in an effort to help federal authorities build a case against Al-Turki and secure her chances of gaining residency in the United States.
Jury deliberations continue today.
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