Linda Howard who fled to Australia after being accused of keeping maid as a sex slave pays $3.3m

Home Top

A psychedelic send-off for 'the godfather of LSD': Susan Sarandon lays Timothy Leary's ashes to rest in a 'church' at Burning Man
American diplomat who kept her African housekeeper in 'depraved sexual slavery and forced her to work an 80 hour week for just $1 an hour settles out of court for a seven-figure sum'
'I'm heartbroken at the disruption to the lives of my staff': Lion killer dentist breaks his silence as he denies Cecil took an excruciating 40 hours to die and reveals he will be back to work on Tuesday
Outrage as comedian Damon Wayans calls the women who accused Bill Cosby of drugging and raping them 'b**ches' who were 'unrapeable'
American teacher, 27, is 'battered to death in a hammer attack and thrown in a river in Nepal' while helping people to rebuild after the deadly earthquake
Season's seventh tropical storm, Grace, heading west from the eastern Atlantic
ANOTHER police officer is shot: Las Vegas cop is wounded after gunman stages 'ambush-style' attack on his patrol car
Kansas State officials apologize after their marching band formation caused mass offense when it accidentally looked like male genitalia
LAPD investigating 'assassination' death threats against Scientology leader after he received series of threatening phone calls
Is El Chapo back in Mexico? World's most-wanted drug lord seen 'escaping from hospital after car crash' just days after that Costa Rica picture emerged
Amy Winehouse through her family's eyes: Singer's relatives lend intimate photographs and never-before-seen memorabilia to exhibition in her honor
Serena Williams sets up quarter-final clash with sister Venus after cruising past Madison Keys in US Open fourth-round
How the world's top tennis players have started to 'slide to get to the ball' on hard surfaces because it's quicker than running
You've been slicing your watermelon all WRONG: Vlogger reveals how to skin the fruit in four simple steps... but it's not quite as it seems
Ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani says Bill de Blasio's 'progressive' view on homelessness is sending New York City back to the Dark Ages of Western civilization
Dick Cheney says the European refugee crisis is a 'direct consequence' of President Obama's failed foreign policy
'My sons are trying to kill me': Mother's desperate 911 call as 'murderous' sons attacked her and their father before trying to torch Atlanta mansion
Times Square painted lady who was arrested for 'offering drugs and oral sex to undercover cop' claims she was set up by the officers
Kim Davis files appeal against judge's decision to jail her but doesn't argue why she should be released after still refusing to issue same-sex couples' marriage licenses
The return of slave-branding: Modern-day sex traffickers bringing back vile practice as girls tell how they are forced to get a tattoo of their pimp's name or insignia to mark them out as 'property'
How to stop worries sabotaging your sleep:Top sleep doctor on blissfully easy ways to stop stress giving you insomnia
Want glowing skin? Grab the tomato ketchup! The humble condiment has many surprising uses - including cleaning saucepans and conditioning hair
Johnny Depp's wife Amber Heard will learn in November if she will be handed a 10-year prison sentence for 'illegally smuggling two terriers into Australia on a private jet and producing a false document'
Nazi gold train claims are called into doubt as experts say they are 'probably a hoax' and brand radar image a 'cheap animation'

Linda Howard was found liable of keeping her housekeeper as a sex slave
Maid said she was repeatedly raped by the U.S. diplomat's husband at Tokyo embassy and 'forced to perform oral sex' at least 10 times
Woman said Linda Howard also made her work 80 hours, seven days a week and paid her less than a dollar an hour
Lawsuit states Howard's husband Russell also told the woman he had previous sexual relations with housekeepers, firing those who refused
Woman said Linda Howard also told her to keep her husband happy and 'fulfill his needs', according to court papers
The woman eventually escaped after four months and repeated threats of deportation, the complaint states
US judge ordered Linda Howard to pay the damages in 2012, recently upheld by the Supreme Court of Victoria earlier

By Anneta Konstantinides For Dailymail.com and Jenny Awford For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 17:13 EST, 6 September 2015 | Updated: 00:09 EST, 7 September 2015

View
comments

Former U.S. diplomat Linda Howard (pictured) is believed to have settled out of court after being accused of the slavery and abuse of her maid

A former U.S. diplomat who fled to Australia after being accused of the cruel slavery and sexual abuse of her African housekeeper is believed to have paid a seven-figure settlement.

Linda Howard and her husband Russell were ordered to pay $3.3million in damages in 2012 after the Ethiopian-born maid claimed she was repeatedly raped by Mr Howard - who has since died.

The housekeeper, identified only as Jane Doe, said Russell Howard repeatedly raped her and forced her to perform oral sex on at least 10 different occasions.

Linda Howard first hired the woman, who was 31 at the time, when she was posted at the US Embassy in Yemen, according to court records.

Russell Howard was only living at the home for the first three weeks of the woman's employment before leaving for Australia, where he is a citizen.

In the months the woman worked for Linda Howard in Yemen there was no abuse and in 2008 she agreed to move with her employer to Japan, where Mrs Howard had received a new posting.

Only weeks after the housekeeper moved to Japan, Russell Howard, who stayed at home during the day while his wife went to work, began demanding sex, the woman's lawsuit states.

When she repeatedly refused he 'abused her brutally' and told her his previous housekeepers had also had sex with him - and fired those who had refused, according to court papers.

After a few weeks, Russell Howard went into the woman's room and raped her as he 'used his right hand to choke and restrain' her, the original complaint states.

Russell Howard would rape her three more times as well as 'force to perform oral sex', according to the lawsuit, even telling her the real reason she was brought to Japan was for 'sexual services'.

The woman said she was repeatedly threatened with deportation and was also forced to work 80 hours a week, seven days a week, and rarely permitted to leave the house alone - isolating her from the outside world.

Meanwhile, Linda Howard told the housekeeper she should make her husband happy and 'fulfill his needs', the complaint states.

Russell Howard also told the woman Linda wanted them to have a threesome and, according to court papers, said the couple once had sex with another maid while she was 'drunk and passed out'.

After living in a 'constant state of terror' for four months, the woman fled on foot in the middle of the night, wearing every piece of clothing she owned.

She found a women's shelter in Tokyo, which reported the abuse to US Embassy officials in the capital. A few weeks later, Linda Howard was removed from her overseas position.

Months later, as the State Department was investigating the woman's claims, Russell Howard flew to her home in Ethiopia and searched for her, court papers state.

The housekeeper, known as Jane Doe, said Mrs Howard was complicit in the abuse and forced her to work 80 hours or more a week as a domestic servant at the U.S. embassy compound in Tokyo (pictured)

US judge Liam O'Grady ordered Linda Howard to pay the damages in 2012 after finding the couple liable of trafficking, sexual and forced labor, according to the Herald Sun.

Speaking at the time, he said: 'Here, the crime, involving sexual assaults, forced labor, and trafficking is particularly depraved.

'The harm was physical, it involved the intentional disregard for the health and safety of Mrs Doe, it was repeated - involving approximately fourteen instances of forced sexual acts, and the harm was planned with forethought and intentionally inflicted on Mrs Doe.'

The damages included $1,250,000 for the emotional distress caused by sexual servitude and $44,500 for forced labor.

Mrs Howard, who is an American citizen, retired from her State Department position and fled to Melbourne without telling the US courts.

She contested the judgment earlier this year at the Supreme Court of Victoria, claiming she treated her housekeeper like a daughter.

Justice Jack Forrest ruled in Ms Doe's favor in March and ordered Linda Howard to pay the woman.

He added that Linda Howard could not argue the housekeeper's claim was fraudulent after remaining silent on the matter for two years and not fighting it in US courts when she had the chance.