Palolo couple makes court appearance in labor trafficking case

A Palolo couple accused of felony labor trafficking of a 15-year-old girl and her mother allegedly beat the teen and locked her in a bedroom for days, court documents revealed today.

Police said the teen’s mother was afraid to intervene because the woman has also hit the mother.

Pomerrine Robert, 29, and Kevin Robert, 41, made their initial appearance before Judge Kristine Yoo at Honolulu District Court Monday via video conference from the courthouse cellblock. Both were charged with two counts of first-degree labor trafficking.

The pair are accused of bringing the victims to Hawaii from Guam in August 2021 and forcing them to perform work after taking away their passports.

Yoo scheduled a 1:30 p.m. preliminary hearing for Thursday. Meanwhile, the Roberts are being held at the Oahu Community Correctional Center in lieu of $250,000 aggregate bail each.

First-degree labor trafficking is a Class A felony that is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, if convicted.

Court documents show Pomerrine Robert provided buddy passes to the girl and mother for their trip to Hawaii from Guam and allegedly took away the victims’ passports upon their arrival to Oahu.

The victims resided with the Roberts at an apartment on Ahe Street. Police said the girl heard Pomerrine Robert say she would return their passports if they paid her money.

Police in court documents said Pomerrine Robert took all of the money the girl’s mother earned as a dishwasher at a deli where Robert also worked at and used it to pay for rent, cigarettes, betel nut, bingo and crystal methamphetamine. When she did not give her money, Pomerrine would get mad and tell her and the girl to get out of the house.

Court documents say the girl was expected to regularly clean the entire apartment and was not allowed to leave the unit except to go to school.

When the teen left the apartment Feb. 22 to visit a friend from school who lived nearby, police said Pomerrine Robert located her, grabbed her hair and “dragged her through the housing complex back to the apartment.” Robert then produced an ice pipe and told her to smoke it or she would beat her. When the girl refused, Kevin Robert allegedly held her down while Pomerrine struck her repeatedly and punched her in the face with a closed fist, causing swelling and bruising to the victim’s right eye.

Six days later, Pomerrine Robert became angry at the girl for not cleaning up after Pomerrine’s daughter. Police said Kevin Robert sat on the victim’s feet and held her arms while Pomerrine struck her repeatedly in the stomach and back with a metal curtain rod.

When the teen’s mother began screaming at Pomerrine Robert, Pomerrine allegedly threw a water bottle at the mother’s head.

After the beating, police said the couple locked the girl in a bedroom until March 4 with bottled water, chips and a bucket to use as a toilet. When the girl returned to school that morning, she reported the incident to a school counselor.

Honolulu police arrested the Roberts Wednesday afternoon.