Miss-Delectable
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Deaf Pakistani girl in UK kept as
A deaf Pakistani girl aged 10 was trafficked into the UK, repeatedly raped, kept in a cellar and treated as a virtual slave for almost a decade, a court was told here.
The orphaned Pakistani youngster, now aged between 19 and 21, who is profoundly deaf and has no speech, was locked in a cellar each night where she would sleep on a concrete floor and by day was forced to work for no money and was sexually assaulted, Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester was told by the prosecution. She was brought into Britain from Pakistan in June 2000.
Her alleged abusers were Ilyas Ashar, 83, and his wife, Tallat Ashar, 66, who deny charges of false imprisonment, human trafficking, sexual offences, violence and fraud.
The victim’s true age is not known but it is thought she was aged between 10 and 12 when she came to the UK, allowed in by immigration on the basis she was to work as a domestic servant. She was never paid and just given food and lodging, Mr Cadwallader told the jury.
Instead the girl was made to cook, clean, do the washing and ironing for the Ashars and clean the houses and cars of their family and friends, the court heard. She was also kept in the cellar to work for hours packing football shirts and clothes and mobile phone covers, the jury was told. “They would be upstairs while she was doing the work,” Mr Cadwallader added.
“In essence it is the prosecution case that she lived in a state of servitude when she entered the Ashar home in Pakistan, then later when she was brought to this country in June 2000. The Crown Court says she was the ideal target for this exploitation as she is and was extremely vulnerable. The Crown’s case is she was physically abused. She was sexually abused, which included being raped by Ilyas Ashar.
“She was exploited economically, in that benefits, state benefits in this country, were obtained in her name, the money being kept by the Ashars. At night the door at the top of the stairs down to the cellar was locked and bolted so she could not get out during the night. There were no washing or toilet facilities in the cellar, so that if she needed to use the bathroom during the night she had to bang on the cellar door in the hope that she was heard and the door opened.”
The alleged victim had no family or friends in the UK and had never been to school in Pakistan or Britain. She cannot read or write and the only people she knew in Britain were the Ashars, who told her both her parents were dead.
She was however taught to write her signature — so her name could be used to claim benefits, it is alleged. Mr Cadwallader added, “We believe you will find her to be a remarkably resilient young woman who tells things as they are.”
Ilyas and Tallat Ashar both deny two counts of human trafficking into the UK for exploitation and a single count of false imprisonment. Ilyas also denies 12 counts of rape, Tallat denies one count of sexual assault and unlawful wounding.
A deaf Pakistani girl aged 10 was trafficked into the UK, repeatedly raped, kept in a cellar and treated as a virtual slave for almost a decade, a court was told here.
The orphaned Pakistani youngster, now aged between 19 and 21, who is profoundly deaf and has no speech, was locked in a cellar each night where she would sleep on a concrete floor and by day was forced to work for no money and was sexually assaulted, Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester was told by the prosecution. She was brought into Britain from Pakistan in June 2000.
Her alleged abusers were Ilyas Ashar, 83, and his wife, Tallat Ashar, 66, who deny charges of false imprisonment, human trafficking, sexual offences, violence and fraud.
The victim’s true age is not known but it is thought she was aged between 10 and 12 when she came to the UK, allowed in by immigration on the basis she was to work as a domestic servant. She was never paid and just given food and lodging, Mr Cadwallader told the jury.
Instead the girl was made to cook, clean, do the washing and ironing for the Ashars and clean the houses and cars of their family and friends, the court heard. She was also kept in the cellar to work for hours packing football shirts and clothes and mobile phone covers, the jury was told. “They would be upstairs while she was doing the work,” Mr Cadwallader added.
“In essence it is the prosecution case that she lived in a state of servitude when she entered the Ashar home in Pakistan, then later when she was brought to this country in June 2000. The Crown Court says she was the ideal target for this exploitation as she is and was extremely vulnerable. The Crown’s case is she was physically abused. She was sexually abused, which included being raped by Ilyas Ashar.
“She was exploited economically, in that benefits, state benefits in this country, were obtained in her name, the money being kept by the Ashars. At night the door at the top of the stairs down to the cellar was locked and bolted so she could not get out during the night. There were no washing or toilet facilities in the cellar, so that if she needed to use the bathroom during the night she had to bang on the cellar door in the hope that she was heard and the door opened.”
The alleged victim had no family or friends in the UK and had never been to school in Pakistan or Britain. She cannot read or write and the only people she knew in Britain were the Ashars, who told her both her parents were dead.
She was however taught to write her signature — so her name could be used to claim benefits, it is alleged. Mr Cadwallader added, “We believe you will find her to be a remarkably resilient young woman who tells things as they are.”
Ilyas and Tallat Ashar both deny two counts of human trafficking into the UK for exploitation and a single count of false imprisonment. Ilyas also denies 12 counts of rape, Tallat denies one count of sexual assault and unlawful wounding.