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Woodbury Woman Charged With Human Labor Trafficking

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A Woodbury woman has been charged with multiple counts related to human labor trafficking.

Lili Huang, 35, was charged with labor trafficking, felony seizing passport with intent to violate labor trafficking, false imprisonment, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault causing substantial bodily harm, according to the Washington County Attorney's Office.

According to the criminal complaint, a woman with two black eyes, broken ribs and a broken sternum was found wandering the streets of Woodbury in the middle of the night. The woman told police she was from Shanghai, China, and was hired as a nanny by Huang.

The woman was provided a room and $890 per month to care for Huang's children after moving from China, the attorney's office said. The woman said she was forced to work up to 18 hours a day caring for the children, cooking and cleaning and she was never allowed to leave the house.

She also said she was physically assaulted by Huang, sometimes in front of the children. The woman told Huang she wanted to return to China, and Huang took the victim's passport and said she was not going anywhere, according to the attorney's office.

The woman said she weighed 120 pounds when she came to the United States and now weighs 88 pounds. She told police Huang allowed her to eat very little.

By July 10, the assaults had gotten so bad that the woman could get up off her hands and knees for four hours. On Wednesday, Huang threatened the woman with a knife, saying she would kill her after the woman accidentally spilled food on the counter, the attorney's office said.

"Human labor trafficking is a crime that no one can believe exists in our community," County Attorney Pete Orput said. "However, it is here, it is being committed by some of our citizens, and it amounts to nothing less than slavery in the 21st century."

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