Saudi Princess Charged with Keeping a Slave in Irvine

A Saudi princess was charged today with human trafficking for allegedly keeping a domestic servant against her will in an Irvine apartment complex.

Meshael Alayban, 42, of Irvine, was ordered held on $5 million bail, up from $1 million when she was booked, and was directed to wear a GPS monitoring device if she posts bail. She must also give up her passport and cannot travel outside of Orange County without permission.

It is the first case of forced labor human trafficking to be prosecuted in Orange County under the state's new Proposition 35 law, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors had sought to deny bail for Alayban, who is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday.

Alayban is one of the wives of Prince Abdulrahman bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz al Saud of Saudi Arabia, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

District Attorney Tony Rackauckas appeared in court for the prosecution this afternoon. After the hearing, he told reporters that he wanted to let victims of "indentured servitude" know they will have support if they seek help from law enforcement.

Some victims from foreign countries brought to the country as slaves may not realize it is illegal, Rackauckas said.

"I would like it to be known we intend to enforce that law," the county's top prosecutor said.

Alayban was charged with one felony count of human trafficking, but there could be more charges forthcoming since authorities encountered four women from the Philippines who also may have been held against their will, Rackauckas said.

Alayban's listing of her occupation as "princess" was reflected in Orange County jail records.

"We believe her to be a Saudi princess," Rackauckas said.

The alleged victim, a 30-year-old woman from Kenya, left the defendant's condo Tuesday and flagged down a passing bus, Irvine police Lt. Julia Engen said. The woman had a suitcase and a State Department pamphlet warning of human trafficking that she received at the American embassy in Saudi Arabia, where she was issued a travel visa, Engen said.

A passenger on the bus saw that the alleged victim was in distress and helped her contact Irvine police, according to the lieutenant, who said the woman was hired by an agency in Kenya to work for Alayban's family in Saudi Arabia in March of last year.

The woman sought employment because her daughter is ill and she wanted to have enough money for medical care, Rackauckas said. She was hired to cook, clean and do other household chores in her employer's palace, according to prosecutors.

When the woman arrived for her work assignment, her passport was taken and she was put to work for excessive hours for a fraction of the agreed-upon salary, Engen alleged. When the woman complained about the working conditions and asked for her passport back, she was refused, the lieutenant said.

Prosecutors said she worked 16 hours every day, with no days off, for $220 a month and she was not allowed to return to Kenya.     It was not clear if the employment agency was aware of what happened to the alleged victim.

In May, Alayban's family traveled to the U.S. with the alleged victim and the four other women from the Philippines, who are also suspected of being human trafficking victims, Engen said.

The Kenyan woman was coached on how to describe her work conditions to employees at the U.S. Embassy, according to prosecutors, who alleged she was told to falsely represent her work hours and that she was paid as much as initially contracted.

Alayban allegedly gave the victim her Kenyan passport as they passed through customs at Los Angeles International Airport and then took it back. The victim was put to work for at least eight residents of four apartments in an Irvine complex, according to prosecutors.

Alayban was arrested at her Irvine apartment about 12:20 this morning. Irvine police and Homeland Security investigators served a search warrant at the Irvine residence, where the four other women left voluntarily with authorities, Engen said. Investigators were working to locate their passports, which are believed to be in a safe deposit box at a local bank, the lieutenant said.

The five women were all in good health and there were no signs of physical abuse, according to Engen, who said the women were being given help in getting housing.   

-City News Service