A woman who is accused of keeping her Indonesian housekeeper as a virtual slave pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal charge of harboring a person in the country illegally.
Sarah Khonaizan and her husband, Homaidan Al-Turki, have been accused of severely underpaying and overworking the housekeeper. In addition, Al-Turki faces state charges that he raped the woman.
As part of the plea agreement submitted to U.S. District Judge Walker Miller, Khonaizan, 35, agreed not to fight her deportation to her home country of Saudi Arabia after serving her sentence.
Forrest Lewis, Khonaizan’s lawyer, said he is hopeful he will be able to convince the judge to give Khonaizan a sentence of home detention or probation. Prosecutors said in the plea agreement they won’t oppose such a sentence.
Lewis said his client was motivated by her desire to put the case behind her and tend to her five children.
“She wants to go back home,” he said.
Khonaizan also will be required to pay restitution to the housekeeper for underpaying her for four years, according to the agreement.
Sentencing is set for July 28.
Khonaizan also faces state charges, which her lawyers said may be resolved this week with a plea agreement.
In Al-Turki’s case, Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s office, declined to comment on whether there are negotiations for a plea deal.
The case has been a contentious one, with Al-Turki’s lawyers filing motions asking to review materials gathered in intelligence investigations of Al-Turki, a Saudi national who lived in Aurora.
Al-Turki’s lawyers have argued that they need to review that information in order to adequately represent their client.
In response, the government has said those materials are irrelevant to the criminal charges he faces and the disclosure of them would pose national security risks.
Staff writer Alicia Caldwell can be reached at 303-820-1930 or acaldwell@denverpost.com.
