U.S. & World News

NEW YORK (CBS) ― A millionaire couple accused of keeping two Indonesian women as slaves in their mansion for years remained jailed Monday after a federal judge chided prosecutors and defense lawyers that a complex bail agreement that would allow the couple to return home under house arrest was inadequate.

Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 35, and her husband, Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, are charged in a federal court indictment with slavery and harboring undocumented citizens after one of the Indonesian women was found wandering outside a doughnut shop not far from the couple's Muttontown mansion muttering that she had been injured and wanted to return to her native country.

Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Platt ruled after a series of bail hearings that he would allow the couple to be freed on a combined $3.5 million bail, provided they remained under home detention with electronic monitoring and 24-hour surveillance -- all paid for by the Long Island couple.

Although he remained soft-spoken, the judge did not disguise his displeasure with some of the parameters of the bail agreement after summoning the parties to his courtroom to discuss the case.

"This is not what I had in mind at all," he said, adding the proposed bail package was "an open invitation to a tea party."

The judge was particularly displeased with the security aspects of the couple's release, which would have called for a 24-hour guard to be placed in the mansion's basement. The judge suggested that additional officers be placed outside the home and even suggested the possibility that the couple install special lighting to illuminate the perimeter of the property.

He also said the couple's three daughters and one son would have to be subjected to searches every time they enter or leave the home.

Although the Sabhnanis agreed to pay for all aspects of security at their home while they await trial -- a cost estimated at $5,000 a day -- the judge noted that they had not provided any money in advance to cover those costs.

Defense attorney Charles Ross expressed optimism that the judge's concerns could be met. The judge scheduled another bail hearing in the case for Wednesday.

The Sabhnanis, U.S. citizens originally from India, had their U.S. passports confiscated when they were arrested, and their bank accounts have been frozen.

The Sabhnanis, who operate a worldwide perfume business out of their mansion, were arrested May 13 after one of the Indonesian women was found wandering outside a nearby Dunkin' Donuts shop. The woman apparently had escaped the night before while putting out the trash, prosecutors said.

Unable to speak English fluently, she showed her wounds and Indonesian passport to a manager at the shop and said, "Mister, mister, I want to go home, Indonesia," according to Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Kristiarto Legowo.

The second woman was found when agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement searched the house later that day.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Demitri Jones has called the allegations "a case of modern-day slavery."

The Sabhnanis have been charged with multiple counts of forced labor and harboring illegal residents and have pleaded not guilty. Each faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The Indonesian women have since been cared for by Catholic Charities.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)