Victim of exit trafficking reveals ‘agonising struggle’ to reunite with children

A mother whose husband ditched her in Sudan before flying back to Melbourne with their two young children has described it her journey to reunite with them as the “most devastating experience” of her life.

Mohamed Ahmed Omer is the first Victorian to be convicted of exit trafficking. Picture: Nicki Connolly

A mother stranded in Sudan by her husband says her years-long journey to reunite with her children in Australia was an “agonising struggle”.

Mohamed Ahmed Omer, 52, became the first Victorian convicted of exit trafficking after he was found guilty of tricking his wife into going on an overseas family holiday before he ditched her and returned to Melbourne with their two young children.

On Tuesday, the woman’s victim impact statement was read to the County Court, describing how she feared she would never see her children again.

“Losing my children was the most devastating experience of my life,” she said.

“Mohamed Omer’s actions turned our lives upside down and my journey to reunite with my children became an agonising struggle.”

When the woman was finally reunited with her children, she said she faced false accusations from her husband and family court proceedings in Sudan that saw her stripped of custody and jailed for three days.

“My children endured more than any child should have to,” she said.

“Their childhoods have been marked by trauma and insecurity.”

The month-long trial heard Omer partnered his Sudanese-born wife — who was 17 years his junior — in an arranged marriage before he sponsored her move to Australia in 2012.

But the couple’s relationship deteriorated as Omer became increasingly controlling and violent after the birth of their first child.

Mohamed Ahmed Omer was found guilty of tricking his wife into going to Sudan before he returned to Melbourne with their children. Picture: Nicki Connolly

He barred her from leaving their Docklands apartment unless he accompanied her and limited her access to finances and mobile phones.

In September 2014, the couple went on a purported holiday to Sudan with their two children, then aged just two and six months.

While the woman was at her parent’s home, Omer, who had secretly cancelled her Australian visa and held her passport, left and returned to Australia with their children.

The woman contacted the Australian Embassy in Egypt, but was told her husband had informed immigration authorities that they had separated and her visa had been cancelled.

Multiple attempts to have her visa reinstated between October 2014 and January 2016 were denied because Omer refused to sponsor her.

She was eventually able to return to Australia in February 2016 — about 16 months since she last saw her children — after receiving help from legal aid and a migrant welfare charity.

Australian Federal Police and immigration authorities investigated the matter, but Omer lied and claimed his “wife decided to return to Sudan and abandoned him and their 2 children”.

He later claimed his wife neglected their children and wanted to go back to Sudan, and he returned to Australia with them because her family had threatened to take them by force.

Omer maintained he had regular contact with his wife and encouraged her to return but she did not want to.

On Tuesday, Defence barrister Brett Stevens told the court his client’s offending was a “stain on an otherwise blemished life”.

He also said there could be worse examples of the offence involving violence or coercion, and the woman was stranded in a country she was familiar with.

But Judge Frank Gucciardo rejected his argument, saying Sudan was a country with many difficulties.

“This isn’t some resort on the Maldives, it’s Sudan,” he said.

Omer, who was charged in March 2022, was found guilty by a jury in April.

His conviction marked the first successful prosecution of exit trafficking in Victoria, which carries a maximum 12 years in jail.

Omer has been in custody since then and will be sentenced later this year.