Alayban was arrested after a Kenyan woman fled the Orange County home of the princess where she was allegedly being held and forced to work against her will. Four other workers were also found in the home.
The Kenyan woman was contracted through an agency to work for Alayban’s family. She said that when she arrived her passport and contract were taken from her. She reported that she had been required to work 16 hours a day since March 2012 and was paid $220 a month, a fraction of the $1,600 a month she expected to receive. She said that when she asked for her passport, Alayban would not return it.
"This is not a contract dispute," Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas told the court on Wednesday. "This is holding someone captive against their will."
The woman, whose identity has not been released, left the house with a suitcase and a pamphlet on human trafficking and flagged down a bus. A woman on the bus helped her call the police.
Alayban is one of the wives of Saudi Prince Abdulrahman bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz al Saud, according to the district attorney's office.
If Alayban is convicted, she faces 12 years in prison.
