Walnut Creek real estate agent convicted of enslaving nanny

Marbelle de la Rosa Dann, 46, was found guilty in federal court Thursday of forced labor and other charges. She had been accused of luring a Peruvian nanny to Walnut Creek with promises of a good life in a big suburban house and a salary of $600 a month, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Zoraida Pena-Canal found anything but. Instead of her own bedroom and a private bathroom, she wound up living with Dann and her three children in a 900-square-foot apartment on Ygnacio Valley Road. Pena-Canal had to work seven days a week, caring for the children, cleaning the apartment, and doing laundry. Her sleeping quarters consisted of the living room floor, and her food was strictly rationed. Dann also never paid Pena-Canal, and instead charged her $15,000 in expenses.

Dann took Pena-Canal's visa and passport with her every day when she went to work and frequently threatened the nanny that she would alert authorities that she was in the United States illegally.

Penal-Canal managed to escape after sharing her plight with people at Indian Valley Elementary, where Dann's twin sons were students. According to an affidavit filed by the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement the nanny received help from La Raza Centro Legal, a San Francisco nonprofit organization that reported Dann’s alleged abusive conduct to authorities.