Forced labor sentences vacated as too low

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Two Brookfield doctors convicted of forced labor had their convictions affirmed by the Seventh Circuit on Aug. 15.

However, the court vacated their sentences, concluding that the guideline range calculated by U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa was too low for several reasons.

At trial, the jury found that Drs. Elnora and Jefferson Calimlim forced a Philippine woman, Irma Martinez, to work 16-hour days, seven days a week, for 19 years. Over that time, she was paid only about $19,000, and was not permitted to seek medical care, leave the house, or leave her room during social functions.

Judge Randa sentenced them both to four years in prison, but the Seventh Circuit granted the government’s cross-appeal and ordered resentencing.

First, the court first found that the guideline offense level should have been two points higher, because the forced labor offense was committed in connection with another felony offense — harboring an alien for private financial gain.

Second, the court found that the offense level should have been increased two more points, because Martinez was a “vulnerable victim.”

Rejecting the argument of the Calimlims that any victim of forced labor is by definition vulnerable, the court reasoned, “with enough muscle, it would be possible to coerce a perfectly able-bodied, English-speaking, independent American citizen into forced labor.”

While Martinez may not have been especially vulnerable among the population of illegal aliens, the court found she was vulnerable compared to the population at large.

Finally, the court found that two more offense level points should have been added for using minor children to commit the crime.

Because the Calimlim children were told not to discuss Martinez with anyone outside the family, the court held, “the Calimlims used their children to help conceal Martinez and to keep her in bondage all those years.”

On remand, the applicable guideline range will be nearly double that applied at the original sentencing, although the advisory nature of the guidelines do not guarantee a higher sentence.