Princess spared prison on immigration charges
Judge considers care taking role
A Saudi princess who took advantage of two Indonesian domestic servants at her Winchester home was spared a prison term yesterday by a judge who said he couldn't ignore the dedication she had shown to others in her life.
Hana Al Jader , 40, a mother of six teenagers who cares for her disabled husband, Mohammed Al Saud , was sentenced to six months of house arrest, 100 hours of community service, and a $40,000 fine, and she was ordered to pay nearly $207,000 in restitution to her former servants. She also forfeited a residence in Arlington.
The princess, who pleaded guilty in September to immigration violations and harboring illegals after prosecutors agreed to drop more serious charges of domestic servitude and forced labor, will be deported immediately after serving her sentence.
US District Judge Reginald C. Lindsay , who rejected the government's request for a one-year prison term for Al Jader, said he wanted to send a message that would deter other foreign nationals from underpaying and overworking domestic help, yet at the same time had to consider Al Jader's extraordinary family circumstances.
"I am impressed by the devotion you have shown to your husband," said Lindsay before a courtroom packed with some 35 relatives and friends of Al Jader.
In a poignant letter to the judge, Al Jader described how her husband was seriously injured in a 1991 car accident when the couple's youngest child was 9 days old.
She described nursing him through a coma, accompanying him to the United States for surgery and rehabilitation, and providing the around-the-clock care he still requires, while struggling to raise their children.
"I am not a perfect person ," wrote Al Jader, adding that she respects the laws and would never hurt anybody.
Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@globe.com. 
