LOUISIANA
A federal judge Thursday sentenced Raylaine Knope, 43, to 28 years in prison for mistreating and abusing a disabled family member and forcing her to do unpaid work, according to officials.
Knope’s daughter, Bridget Lambert, 22, was sentenced to 48 months imprisonment for conspiring with Knope and their other family members to obtain forced labor from the disabled woman identified only as D.P., officials.
“Knope and Lambert conspired to brutally coerce a vulnerable victim with disabilities to work long hours in despicable conditions and with no monetary compensation,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband.
“Lambert and Knope participated in a truly horrific crime against one of the most susceptible members of our society. I hope that these sentences will bring a measure of justice to the victim. Shockingly, crimes such as this are becoming more common,” said U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser of Louisiana.
Another man was sentenced in June to 10 years for his role in the physical and psychological abuse of the young autistic woman who told him in court, “You made my life a living hell.”
The woman was, beaten, shot with a BB gun and forced to eat the cremation ashes of her dead mother before the abuse was discovered, court evidence indicated.
“The defendants’ actions in this matter were nothing short of cruel and inhumane. Both Raylaine Knope and Bridget Lambert mistreated and psychologically abused another human being, a family member, and someone who should have been considered a loved one,” said Special Agent in Charge Bryan A. Vorndran of the FBI New Orleans Field Office.
On May 20, 2019, Knope pleaded guilty to one count of a forced labor conspiracy, one count of a substantive forced labor violation, and one count of misprision of a felony.
At her plea hearing, Knope admitted that, between Aug. 13, 2015, and June 30, 2016, in Amite, Louisiana, she conspired with other family members to obtain D.P.’s uncompensated household labor and services through a number of means, including by force, threats of force, and physical restraint.
Knope admitted that she forced D.P. to live in a locked backyard cage and to perform housework and yard work in exchange for food and water. She further admitted that she and her co-conspirators subjected D.P. to routine physical abuse, threats, and verbal and psychological abuse designed to ensure D.P.’s continued compliance with the family’s orders.
As examples of this abuse, the defendant admitted that she once forced D.P. to eat D.P.’s deceased mother’s cremated ashes. Knope also admitted that she used this overarching abuse to obtain D.P.’s forced labor, and that she helped another co-conspirator steal D.P.’s monthly federal disability benefits.
On Sept. 27, 2018, Lambert pleaded guilty to one count of a forced labor conspiracy. At the plea hearing, Lambert admitted that, between Aug. 13, 2015, and June 30, 2016, in Amite, Louisiana, she conspired with other members of her family, including Raylaine Knope, to obtain D.P.’s uncompensated household labor and services by a number of means, including by force, threats of force, and verbal and psychological abuse.
Lambert further admitted that, on one occasion, she advanced the conspiracy by striking D.P. in the head with a wooden board, causing D.P. to bleed from her head, and on another occasion advanced the conspiracy by holding D.P.’s arm in place so that a fellow conspirator could punish D.P. by burning her with a cigarette lighter.
DOJ NOTED:
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Field Office in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Tangipahoa Parish District Attorney’s Office.
The case has been prosecuted by Trial Attorney Risa Berkower of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Assistant United States Attorney Julia Evans of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and by the Tangipahoa Parish District Attorney’s Office.