Former tennis pro Jean Claude Toviave was sentenced today in a Michigan court to 11 years in prison for fraudulently bringing children over from the African nation of Togo and making them his slaves.
According to the Daily News Toviave was unapologetic when given a chance in court to offer his sympathies to his victims. In addition to the years in jail he was also ordered to pay 2 of the 4 children $60,000 in damages.
The 4 children had emigrated from Togo after Toviave falsified immigration paperwork and listed them as his biological children. The victims were then forced into a life of servitude where they were beat with toilet plungers, broom sticks and electrical cords and starved when they didn’t follow orders. The ordeal lasted for 5 long years.
Toviave was convicted on 4 counts of forced labor in October, and today received the maximum sentence for his crimes.