Couple accused of forcing teen to work as servant makes first court appearance

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A Palolo couple accused of holding a teenage girl captive and forcing her to work as a servant made their first court appearance Monday.

Kevin and Pomerrine Robert were arrested last week on suspicion of labor trafficking.

Authorities say they helped the 15-year-old girl and her mother move to Hawaii last summer from Guam and would repeatedly beat the teen.

Court documents say in February, the teen went to visit a friend who lived nearby.

When Pomerrine Robert found her, the girl was allegedly grabbed by the hair and dragged through the housing complex back to the apartment.

The documents say Pomerrine produced an ice pipe and told the teen to smoke it.

When the girl said no, Robert allegedly held her down while she punched her in the face.

Their bail was set at $250,000 and they’re due back in court Thursday.

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