Children testified being victims of child abuse in front of Salt Lake City Court on Tuesday. U.S District Judge Tena Campbell heard the testimony of five children and teenagers as they bear witness against Paragon Contractors who ordered them to work long hours at a Utah ranch even on school days.
According to ABC News, he statement came following the request of labor lawyers to hold in contempt the Paragon Contractors accused of using 1,400 unpaid laborers including 175 children. The U.S Department of Labor is also pursuing back wages for the labors who were forced to work long hours during 2012 pecan harvest, the news source added.
The Seattle Times wrote that children age nine to 18, mostly brothers and sisters, admitted in court that they took part in the annual pecan harvest in Hurricane, 300 miles south of Salt Lake City. They said they worked since they were six years old and were unprotected to harsh weather. They were not allowed to rest in nearby vans and were given not enough food in some days.
However, the news site held the company denies the allegations saying the women and children offeredto work in the ranch. Paragon even submitted documents attesting that the volunteers collected fallen nuts to help build food supplies for the poor. According to the documents, children looked forward to the outing after they finished their school work.
On Monday, The Arizona Star reported that a former member of Utah polygamous sect sworn a victim of child abuse on the same court. Alyssa Bistline narrated she started working on the pecan ranch at age 13, under the direction of polygamous leaders.
"I well understood that if I didn't go, I was in big trouble," said Bistline, 21. "They said, 'If you rebel or disobey, you will lose your family or you will removed,'" Bistline was quoted by the site.
The child labor laws in Utah exempt farm work as long as it is done outside school hours. But Paragon Contactors argued that the 2012 harvest cannot be considered school day since children in the sect is homeschooled and minors were with their parents.
According to Federal attorneys, the Paragon Contractors is connected with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In 2007, the company violated a directive against child labor. Judge Campbell is set to hear three days of testimony.
