Case: 19-10505 Document: 00515484144 Page: 1 Date Filed: 07/10/2020 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 19-10505 FILED July 10, 2020 Lyle W. Cayce UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Clerk Plaintiff – Appellee, v. MOHAMED TOURE; DENISE CROS-TOURE, Defendants – Appellants. Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas Before DENNIS, ELROD, and COSTA, Circuit Judges. JENNIFER WALKER ELROD, Circuit Judge: Mohamed Toure and Denise Cros-Toure appeal from the district court’s judgment convicting them of forced labor, conspiracy to harbor an alien for financial gain, and harboring an alien. We affirm. I. Mohamed Toure and Denise Cros-Toure are a married couple who came to the United States from Guinea. 1 Upon securing green cards, they became 1We view the facts in the light most favorable to the verdict, as we must. United States v. Martinez, 900 F.3d 721, 728 (5th Cir. 2018). Case: 19-10505 Document: 00515484144 Page: 2 Date Filed: 07/10/2020 No. 19-10505 lawful permanent residents. The Toures resided in Southlake, Texas, with their five children. D.D. was born in Guinea. She lived in a village with her family until her father took her to Conakry, the capital of Guinea, to live with and work for Denise Cros-Toure’s parents. When D.D.’s mother learned of the arrangement, she unsuccessfully attempted to hide D.D. with a relative because she did not “want [D.D.] to become somebody’s slave.” While living with Denise Cros- Toure’s parents, D.D. stopped going to school. Instead of continuing her education, D.D. performed tasks such as taking care of Denise Cros-Toure’s blind sister and giving massages to her mother. In January 2000, D.D. was sent to live and work in Mohamed Toure and Denise Cros-Toure’s home in Southlake, Texas. She was around nine or ten years old. D.D. had no choice in the matter. According to Mohamed Toure, D.D.’s father “decided to give—I mean, to let [them] have” D.D. To facilitate the move, Denise Cros-Toure’s parents obtained a passport and tourist visa for D.D. Although D.D.’s visa authorized her to stay lawfully in the United States for six months, until July 18, 2000, she lived with the Toures until 2016. Over the next sixteen years, D.D. worked for the Toures in their home. She performed a wide variety of tasks for the family, often working from around 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. every day. While working, D.D. was not allowed to take many breaks. One of her main jobs was to cook meals for the Toures. D.D. was also responsible for taking care of the Toures’ children during the day, performing tasks such as changing diapers. When the children grew older, D.D. had to walk them to school. While the children were at school, D.D. cleaned the Toures’ house at Denise Cros-Toure’s direction. D.D. would also shop for the Toures, walking or biking about a mile and a half to the nearest grocery store to do so. In addition, ...
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