Auckland, New Zealand – A former prison officer has been sentenced to more than 16 years in jail after being convicted of enslaving two young people in Auckland. Moeaia Tuai, 63, was found guilty last year of two charges of slavery, two counts of rape, and a string of other sexual assaults.
The sentencing, handed down on Thursday, marks a significant moment in New Zealand’s legal history, with Justice Michele Wilkinson-Smith voicing concerns about the prevalence of slavery within the country, including instances where youths are brought to New Zealand for exploitative labor. According to RNZ, this case represents only the fifth slavery conviction in New Zealand’s history.
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has described the case as “disturbing,” highlighting how extreme exploitation can remain “hidden in plain sight.” Steve Watson, INZ compliance and investigations manager, stated, “It was a very disturbing case, and the victims did not deserve to be treated in that way. It’s a very, very good sentence, and sends a very clear message that this type of slavery and exploitation won’t be tolerated.” He added that INZ provided significant support to both the police and the prosecution.
The victims, whose identities are protected by suppression orders, shared harrowing accounts of their ordeal in court. One of the complainants stated that Tuai had stolen her “youthful happiness, her voice and virginity,” leaving her feeling as though her soul had been taken. She described a life of isolation and control, prevented from communicating with others and plagued by flashbacks. “A lot of the time, I wish I wasn’t here,” she said in her victim impact statement. “I find it very hard to communicate with others because I was always stopped from speaking with anyone and everyone… I often have flashbacks that just hold me back.”
The second victim, a young man, spoke through tears about the support he received after escaping Tuai’s control. He expressed the lasting damage inflicted upon his family, stating, “My parents are now trying to rebuild the good life that was broken because of these people… A glass that has been shattered into tiny pieces cannot be put back together again.”
The court heard that Tuai felt entitled to the money earned by his victims, controlling their finances to fund his lifestyle and threatening them with deportation. Justice Wilkinson-Smith emphasized that the victims’ vulnerability and acceptance of slavery due to extreme poverty did not mitigate Tuai’s crimes. She stated that the rapes and other assaults committed against the female complainant added another layer of severity to the enslavement and theft of her income, describing her as being “in a very real sense your slave.”
Tuai’s history includes a period working as a prison officer for Corrections between 2003 and 2004. The timeline of his offenses reveals a pattern of exploitation spanning several years:
- 2017: Tuai brought two young people to New Zealand and put the older male victim to work at a boarding house owned by his wife’s sister.
- 2020: The older victim escaped and fled to Australia.
- 2021: The younger female complainant was brought back to New Zealand and forced to work seven days a week in laundromats for two months.
- 2022-2024: She continued to work under Tuai’s control, with an estimated $78,000 of her wages being taken by him.
- 2024: She escaped and reported the rapes to the police.
- 2024-2025: Police and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) launched an investigation into the slavery offenses.
Watson emphasized that addressing exploitation is a priority for MBIE and INZ, “right from policy settings through to our operational arms.” He urged anyone witnessing potential offenses to come forward, stating, “Slavery and other forms of exploitation, they are serious crimes and they’re often hidden in plain sight.”
The case has also prompted discussion about the need for improved detection and prosecution of slavery in New Zealand, with former trafficking victims expressing concerns about the current level of effort. Justice Wilkinson-Smith noted that the previous major prosecution involved Joseph Matamata, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2020 for dealing with slaves and human trafficking.
