Man accused of forced labor sentenced to prison for child abuse

DETROIT (AP) - A man accused of using African children as forced labor in his Ypsilanti home has been sentenced after being convicted of child abuse.

The Ann Arbor News recently reported that 46-year-old Jean-Claude Toviave was ordered Monday to spend 7 years 11 months to 15 years in prison.

Toviave was a political dissident in Togo before being granted asylum in the U.S. He helped four children emigrate from that country in 2006 with fraudulent papers. They said they were beaten if they didn't follow orders to vacuum, iron, cook, clean and shine shoes at their Ypsilanti home.

Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge David Swartz told Toviave that "there is absolutely no excuse" for the abuse.

Toviave earlier was convicted on federal forced labor charges, but that was overturned.

Published: Fri, Jun 26, 2015