In a disturbing case of modern slavery, a woman was forced to live as a “house slave” for over 25 years in the home of a Gloucestershire mother of ten. The victim, now in her mid-40s, was just 16 years old when she moved into the squalid home of Amanda Wixon, 56, in 1995, where she remained until 2021.
The Gloucester Crown Court heard harrowing details of the abuse the victim endured during her captivity. She was regularly beaten, including being struck with a broom handle that knocked out her teeth. Other forms of abuse included having washing-up liquid squirted down her throat, bleach splashed on her face, and her head repeatedly shaved against her will. Wixon also limited the victim’s food, forcing her to subsist on scraps, and forbade her from leaving the house or even washing properly, compelling her to bathe in secret at night.
The family home in the Priors Park area of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, was described as overcrowded and in a squalid condition, with mould on the walls, peeling plaster, and rubbish in the back garden. Wixon denied charges of false imprisonment, two counts of requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, and four counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. While she was acquitted of one assault charge, the jury found her guilty of the remaining offences.
Wixon was released on conditional bail and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 12. Prosecutor Sam Jones told the jury that the victim “was kept in and prevented from leaving the address, and she was assaulted and hit many, many times and forced to work with the threats of violence.” He added that she had been “denied food and the ability to wash over many years.”
Judge Ian Lawrie KC described the case as having a “Dickensian quality” after the court heard that the victim, who has learning difficulties, had come from her own “dysfunctional family.” Police were alerted to the situation in March 2021 after one of Wixon’s sons reported the woman’s plight.
Officers who attended the property described the victim’s bedroom as resembling a “prison cell,” with other bedrooms being untidy and dirty. The woman told police, “I don’t want to be here. I don’t feel safe. Mandy hits me all the time. I haven’t washed for years. She doesn’t let me.”
Shockingly, the court heard that social services had been involved with the family in the late 1990s, but there were no records of any contact since then. “The fact remains that nothing was done by social services,” Mr. Jones said. Furthermore, there were no medical or dental records for the victim, who had not seen a doctor in two decades.
This disturbing case highlights the urgent need for better safeguarding measures and increased vigilance to prevent such horrific instances of exploitation and abuse from occurring in the future.
