The Criminal Court of La Chaux-de-Fonds might not be convinced that the alleged victim had to work up to 15 hours a day to take care of one then two children, to cook and clean. The court was also surprised that the young woman waited 9 months to file a complaint, once she had left the house where she had spent the previous six years. The complainant had however moved the assistance when she had let go: “I was like a robot who did everything she wanted. I felt like I belonged to her. I cried every day.”
“The neutral witnesses questioned did not give any element that suggests exploitation. There was no social isolation or coercion. When the Complainant wanted to leave, she did. The Tribunal understands the complainant’s feeling of having been exploited, but we are far from cases such as those of embassy staff, ”said President Alain Rufener. In the end, only the charges of inciting illegal entry, exit or residence were brought once morest the two co-defendants. The wife, also Moroccan, received 120 days/fine of 30.-, the husband 60 days/fine of 80.-. Both sentences were suspended for two years.
The Public Prosecutor and the plaintiff’s lawyer reserve the right to appeal, once they have had the reasons for the judgment. “I am curious to see how the court decided not to retain the charge of wear, how it explains that my client worked for nothing for six years, reacted Me Bauer.”
