Listen Live
WOLB Featured Video
CLOSE

North Carolina — A 53-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina woman is fighting federal charges of enslaving a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant. According to the federal indictment, Lucinda Lyons Shackleford agreed to provide care for the teenage boy – including accommodations, food, and clothing.

Instead of providing care, though, the US Justice Department alleges that Shackleford forced the teen to clean her home, work on her boyfriend’s car and sell beer to trailer park residents. The indictment also alleges that she demanded his pay, struck him, and threatened to call law enforcement and immigration officials if he did not return to her home.

Shackleford vigorously denied the charges. “They say I was holding him hostage and that I was making him work,” Shackleford said. “He didn’t do anything he didn’t want to do.” Shackleford admitted that she had not seen the indictment and did not fully understand all the charges against her.

Read more at TheGrio

RELATED:

Could you have been a slave?