Ex-teacher gets 7 years for enslaving Haitian teen


FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (AP) -- A former teacher was sentenced Tuesday to more than seven years in prison for forcing a Haitian girl to work as a slave for years in her South Florida home.

Maude Paulin, 52, admitted that she had made mistakes in bringing Simone Celestin to the U.S. and apologized for what happened but insisted that she wanted only good things for the girl.

"I love Simone with all my heart," Paulin told Senior U.S. District Judge Jose A. Gonzalez Jr. at a sentencing hearing. "I regret it. I blame myself."
Paulin's ex-husband, Saintfort Paulin, was sentenced to house arrest for a lesser role.

The sentence imposed by Gonzalez on Maude Paulin was at the low end of federal guidelines but is still higher than prison terms in many similar cases. Prosecutor Edward Chung of the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division said a stiff sentence was important to deter others.

Ex-teacher gets 7 years for enslaving Haitian teen - CNN.com

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