A restaurant manager who is serving jail time for effectively enslaving a black man with an intellectual disability should pay $ 546,000 in restitution, a court ruled.
Bobby Paul Edwards is already serving a 10-year sentence at a South Carolina restaurant for forcing John Christopher Smith to work under abusive conditions for a 100-hour week, but an appeals court said Smith had to start Should be awarded double of the $ 273,000 awarded.
Smith, with an IQ of 70, first started working at the Conway restaurant in 1990 at the age of 12.
By September 2009, when Edwards took office and Smith was moved to an apartment attached to the restaurant, the Circuit of Court of Appeal 4 said.
Prosecutors alleged that Edwards, who is white, blamed Smith for misconduct, including racial references, and threatening him for speeding, According to The Post and Courier.
According to court records, Edwards forced Smith to work 6 Fridays-11 Monday to Friday and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Edwards beat Smith with a belt and punched him, identified as Jack in court records.
“Once, when Jack failed to deliver the fried chicken as Edwards had demanded, Edwards dipped the metal tongs in hot grease and pressed them to Jack’s neck, resulting in prompt treatment to fellow employees. Had to, ”the court ruled. said.
“Jack” later said he felt like he was in jail, the ruling quoted him as saying.
According to court records, “most of the time I felt insecure, like Bobby could kill me if I wanted to.”
“I wanted to get out of that place so bad, but couldn’t think of how I could live without being hurt.”
The abuse continued until October 2014, when a relative of a restaurant employee alerted authorities and the South Carolina Department of Social Services stepped in, the ruling said.
Edwards pleaded guilty to one count of forced labor in 2019 and was initially ordered by the district court to pay $ 273,000 based on unpaid minimum wages and overtime under the Fair Standards Act.
The decision of the appeals court sent the case back to the district court and asked to recalculate the reinstatement based on its decision.
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