Charity: 30-year-old UK woman 'born in captivity'

 

 

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Charity: 30-year-old UK woman 'born in captivity'
11/22/2013 11:58:32 AM

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• A couple are alleged to have held three women captive in London for more than 30 years
• Police arrested them on suspicion of involvement in forced labor, domestic servitude
• One of the alleged captives contacted a charity, which worked with police on a rescue
• The man and woman accused of keeping them captive have been released on bail until January

London (CNN) -- A couple alleged to have held three women captive as slaves in London for more than 30 years have been released on bail, Scotland Yard says.

Police arrested the man and woman, both aged 67, at their home in Lambeth, south London, Thursday on suspicion of being involved in forced labor and domestic servitude. Their names were not released, and police said only that they are not British nationals and had been bailed until January.

One of the women -- a 30-year-old Briton -- "appears to have been in servitude for her entire life," police said. She and the other two women, a 57-year-old from Ireland and a 69-year-old from Malaysia, were "highly traumatized" and being cared for in a place of safety, they said.

Police said Freedom Charity had alerted them to the suspects in October after receiving a phone call from one of the victims.

"The woman found the courage to contact the charity after seeing a documentary on television we are informed was aired by the BBC," they said in a statement.

'Controlled freedom'

With the "help of sensitive negotiations" by the charity, police met with the Irish and British women on October 25. The women identified the place where they said they had been held, allowing police to rescue the 69-year-old Malaysian woman and take all three to a place of safety, London's Metropolitan Police said.

"We believe that the women had some controlled freedom but at this stage we are still trying to find out to what extent and what form this took. The relationship between the women is part of an ongoing investigation and we are not willing to speculate," police said.

Detective Inspector Kevin Hyland said it was an unprecedented case for the Met's Human Trafficking Unit.

"We've seen some cases where people have been held for up to 10 years, but we've never seen anything of this magnitude before," he said.

"Our unit deals with many cases every year but has never unearthed such a staggering example of people held against their will for their whole life time."

He said it was the early stages of a "complicated and sensitive" investigation.

"These women are highly traumatized, having been held in servitude for at least 30 years with no real exposure to the outside world, and, trying to find out exactly what has happened over three decades will understandably take some time."

Sensitivity and secrecy

Police said that they had seen no evidence "to suggest anything of a sexual nature," but that the investigation was ongoing.

Freedom Charity spokeswoman Aneeta Prem said the organization had taken "immediate action" to plan a rescue after learning of the women's situation.

"Facilitating their escape was achieved using utmost sensitivity and secrecy and with the safety of the women as our primary concern," she said, describing the work of those involved as "outstanding."

A television documentary on forced marriages relating to the work of Freedom Charity prompted the call for help.

CNN's Max Foster said police had told him the charity had communicated with the women through prearranged phone calls, to gain their trust.

"Over time they built up that trust, the police gathered outside the house and then they had the confidence to leave the house," Foster said. "It seems to have taken place in a suburban area of south London, on an ordinary street."

 

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