A 53-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina woman is fighting federal charges of enslaving a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant. According to the federal indictment, Lucinda Lyons Shackleford agreed to provide care for the teenage boy – including accommodations, food, and clothing.
Instead of providing care, though, the US Justice Department alleges that Shackleford forced the teen to clean her home, work on her boyfriend’s car and sell beer to trailer park residents. The indictment also alleges that she demanded his pay, struck him, and threatened to call law enforcement and immigration officials if he did not return to her home.
Shackleford vigorously denied the charges. “They say I was holding him hostage and that I was making him work,” Shackleford said. “He didn’t do anything he didn’t want to do.” Shackleford admitted that she had not seen the indictment and did not fully understand all the charges against her.
She repeatedly said she never enslaved the teen, never forced him to work, and never took his money. “I don’t even slave my dog. Why would I slave a human being?” Shackleford said.
Both Homeland Security and US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement investigated the case. It will be prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office Western District of North Carolina. Investigators said the charges are meant to send a message.
“It is a sad reflection on the human condition that people believe they can engage in this kind of exploitation of another human being for profit and think they can do so with impunity,” said Brock Nicholson, the acting special agent in charge of the ICE team overseeing the Carolinas.
“Today’s indictment sends the message to those who traffic in human beings that ICE Homeland Security Investigations and its federal, state and local law enforcement partners are committed to protecting those who cannot protect themselves,” Nicholson said.
Shackleford is facing charges for forced labor and document servitude. If she is found guilty, those charges could bring a sentence of more than 20 years.
