NYC jury convicts writer in sex abuse case

[June 04, 2011]  NEW YORK (AP) -- A suburban New York writer has been convicted of sexually abusing young women he lured from overseas to be his assistant.

A federal jury in Brooklyn found Joseph Yannai (YAH'-nay) guilty on Friday of forced labor, sex crime and other charges.

Prosecutors had accused him of using au pair websites to persuade young women to live and work at his home in Pound Ridge, an upscale suburb north of New York City. Some of the victims testified that he subjected them to nonstop lewd behavior and threats.

The defense acknowledged that the 67-year-old Yannai was a "dirty old man" but denied he broke the law.

Yannai wrote a reference guide called "The International Who's Who of Chefs 2004-2005."

He faces up to 80 years in prison. No sentencing date was set.

[Associated Press]

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