‘Family member’ says slave labor suspect – 06/08/2023 – Market

The Federal Police claims to have found a woman in a situation analogous to slavery at the home of judge Jorge Luiz de Borba, of the Court of Justice of Santa Catarina, this Tuesday (6). He is suspected of keeping the worker in these conditions for at least 20 years. In a note, he said the woman was considered a member of the family and denied any crime.

The STJ (Superior Court of Justice) authorized the search and seizure operation by the PF at the judge’s house, in the Itacorubi neighborhood, in Florianópolis. The magistrate and his wife are suspected of subjecting the woman to forced labor, exhausting hours and degrading conditions.

The report tried to contact the judge in his office by telephone this Wednesday (7), but the legal secretary, Roberto Ferro Borini, said that Borba has nothing to say about this matter. When contacted, the TJ did not inform the name of the magistrate’s defense attorney.

In a note sent to the press, the judge states that the woman was “like a member of the family”. “This is someone who has come to live with us, as a member of the family, residing in our house for over 30 years, having always received the same treatment given to our children.”

The MPF (Federal Public Ministry) investigates “evidence of criminal practice”, which was reported to the agency and confirmed by witnesses heard during the initial phase of the investigation.

Also, as reported in the complaint received by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the worker never received formal instruction and does not have social interaction. In the decision that determined the police operation, the issuance of guides for the discharge of owed labor debts was already authorized.

According to the Penal Code, in article 149, work analogous to slavery is characterized by the submission of someone to forced labor or to exhausting workdays, in degrading conditions, or restricting, by any means, their locomotion due to debt to the employee. .

According to investigations by the MPF and MPT (Ministério Público do Trabalho), the couple kept in their home, for at least two decades, a person who performed the most diverse domestic tasks, but did not have a work permit and did not receive a salary or any other labor benefits.

According to a note from the MPF, “the worker would be the victim of mistreatment due to the material conditions in which she lives and due to the refusal of those investigated to provide health care”.

Inspectors from the Ministry of Labor and Employment also accompanied the woman’s rescue.

Check out the full note from the judge José Luiz de Borba

“I come to express surprise and dissatisfaction with what happened, anticipating, right away, that what is unfoundedly considered as being “suspected work analogous to slavery”, in fact, expresses an act of love. as a victim, was actually embraced by my family.

This is someone who has come to live with us as a family member, residing in our house for over 30 years, who joined us already affected by bilateral and mute deafness, having always received the same treatment given to our children.

Although irresigned, I trust serenely in the fair elucidation of the facts, certain that whoever does good cannot be penalized. We make ourselves available to everyone, since we have enough elements to prove the dignity of our purposes, which were, are and will be exclusively humanitarian, of love for our neighbor”.