5 King residents charged in Afghan girl's forced labor

A Federal Way man beat, raped and enslaved his Afghan teen bride, forcing her to perform domestic labor for him and another family in Auburn for a year and a half, according to a grand jury indictment.

Mohammad Atahee, 37, and four other King County residents kept the girl out of school so nobody would intervene in the secret arrangement and so she would be available to cook, clean, do laundry and perform child care at all times, the indictment says.

And if the girl told anyone or refused to work, they threatened they would hurt her, harm her family or have her deported, the indictment says.

In a U.S. District Court in Seattle Wednesday afternoon, Atahee, Nahid and Maruf Yousufi, and Nasima and Mohammad Yousuf faced federal charges of conspiring to engage in forced labor.

Atahee, who pleaded not guilty, and the Yousufis are being detained pending hearings Friday and Monday, said U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Emily Langlie.

Mohammad Yousuf, who pleaded not guilty, and Nasima Yousuf were released under travel restrictions and a judge's order to make no direct or indirect contact with the girl, Langlie said. The couple is also charged with visa fraud.

The five people will face trial Dec. 23, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Ye-Ting Woo.

The Oct. 8 grand jury indictment describes how events allegedly unfolded:

The Afghan girl was 13 in 2005 when Nahid Yousufi and Nasima Yousuf persuaded her to marry Atahee, a permanent U.S. resident, and come to the United States.

Nasima Yousuf, then 68, falsely claimed the girl as her daughter. Yousuf's husband, Mohammad Yousuf, filed for an immigrant visa for the girl, claiming she was his stepdaughter.

When the girl arrived in SeaTac in July 2006, Atahee served as her interpreter during border-patrol questioning. Then Mohammad Yousuf took the girl's Afghan passport and immigration documents, and Maruf Yousufi helped keep them from her.

On Aug. 6, 2006, the indictment says, Atahee assaulted the girl, and she reported the assault to Federal Way police. But Nahid Yousufi coerced her into recanting her statement, threatening to have her deported and to harm her family.

The indictment goes on to say that for the next year and a half, Atahee routinely beat and sexually assaulted the girl and forced her to perform all of the domestic chores in his home at 2511 S. 286th Place in Federal Way. The Yousufis also required her to do all the household chores and care for their children at least three days a week in their home at 28004 33rd Ave. S. in Auburn.

On Jan. 26 of this year, the indictment says, Atahee raped the girl, and she reported the assault to Federal Way police. Nahid Yousufi then told Child Protective Services that the girl was 24, in an attempt to have her returned to Atahee.

The girl, now 16, is safe, said Langlie. Although she could not provide more details because the girl is a juvenile, Langlie said a T visa, which allows victims of human trafficking to remain in the U.S., might be applicable in the girl's situation.

Noelene Clark: 206-464-2321 or nclark@seattletimes.com