Indian-origin US Army veteran made cousin do household chores, confiscated immigration papers, punished through physical abuse, sleep deprivation

Indian-origin US Army veteran pleaded guilty to having enslaved his cousin from India. 38-year-old Venkatesh Sattaru, a US Army veteran, has been sentenced to prison on various charges of domestic assault in a spine-chilling case of suspected human trafficking that took place around 2022-2023. Sattaru, a resident of St Louis, brought his young cousin to the US and then used him as bonded labor. According to court records, Sattaru's cousin, an Indian, came to St Louis in December 2022. He was staying at one of Sattaru's houses and was asked to do all household chores and errands for the company that Sattaru owned. This went on for months until the cousin was shifted to a different house of Sattaru.Sattaru used to punish his cousin when he failed to perform his duties and confiscated his immigration paperwork. He did not let him sleep, physically abused him and restricted him his access to the bathroom, bathing and food. "Sometimes Sattaru punished the victim himself. At other times, Sravan Penumetcha and Nikhil Penmasta punished the victim, either at Sattaru's request or on their own initiative. The physical abuse included the use of dangerous weapons and resulted in serious bodily ...