Roma Gypsy Family Exploited Fellow Poles To Work, Beg And Steal

Ana & Dawid Gil

A family of Roma gypsies tricked three fellow-Poles into moving to London, where one was forced into slavery and subjected to brutal beatings and all had their national insurance numbers used to rip-off the benefits system, a court heard.

One female victim was constantly sexually molested and forced to shoplift and beg with her two children and the two men had to collect scrap metal for up to twenty hours per day and hand all their money over to the family.

The family are: Ana Gill, 48, and her boyfriend Jan Majewski, 48, both of High Road, Romford.

Her four son's: Wladyslaw Gil, 32, of Budock Court, Budock Drive, Ilford; Dawid Gil, 30, and Mateusz Gil, 19, both of Field Road, Forest Gate and Fabien Gil, 27, and his wife Bogumila Mirga, 30, both of Salisbury Road, Forest Gate.

"The defendants are all members of a family originating in Poland who conspired or agreed to traffic three fellow Polish nationals and exploit them," prosecutor Mr. Tim Hunter told the Croydon Crown Court jury.

"Their identity documents were confiscated and they were made to work under conditions of bonded labour and violence was routinely deployed.

Jan Majewski & Wladyslaw Gil

"They used their identities to obtain tax credits and to apply for bank loans, vehicles and other goods and all the money would be paid into accounts controlled by these defendants."

One Polish couple and their two children were brought to the UK and kept under the control of Fabien Gil, the court was told.

While the husband was sent to work at a banana-packing plant in Stanstead and surrender 70% of his wages his wife and two children were kept locked in a room for a year.

When that job ended he was forced to collect scrap metal and hand all the proceeds over, purportedly in exchange for food and lodging.

Bogumila Mirga & Fabien Gil

"The defendants were claiming child tax credits for those two children and when the mother was allowed out she was forced to shoplift and beg," explained Mr. Hunter.

"Fabien and Ana Gil threatened to beat up the children and Mateusz Gil also subjected the woman to repeated sexual assaults.

"He would follow her into the bathroom and pester her for sex. He would grab her breasts, buttocks and vagina both above and beneath her clothing."

The family escaped after the husband got Fabien Gil drunk one night, snatched his identity documents from the defendant's wallet, and fled to Wales.

They later told the police of Majewski: "He was the brains behind the operation….The boss of the whole family."

The couple had seen another Pole under the control of the family, Robert Wylezol, who also came from the town of Nysa, near the Czech border and was used to break into squats for the defendants.

Mateusz Gil

"He worked twenty hours a day collecting scrap metal in a pram and Fabien Gil kept all the proceeds and he was told to work or there would be no food.

"He received daily beatings from Wladyslaw Gil and on one occasion was beaten unconscious and suffered fractured ribs," added Mr. Hunter.

"The victim was also beaten with a metal pipe and urinated blood for a week and after escaping for one night and sleeping in a park was beaten unconscious, with ribs broken on both sides."

The jury were told the severity of the beatings were influenced by the amount of money Mr. Wylezol made for the family and he was kept under their control by threats to kill his son and family living in Poland.

He was moved to Wladyslaw's new address in Ilford, where he slept in a locked storage room with no bed, until he escaped and slept rough for four months until assisted by a charity.

Ana Gil, Wladyslaw, Dawid and Fabien are charged with conspiring to hold a person in slavery or servitude, in relation to Robert Wylezol and all four are also charged with conspiring to traffic him into and within the UK for exploitation.

Ana Gil, Wladyslaw, Dawid, Fabien and Jan Majewski are charged with conspiring to traffic the husband of the couple into and within the UK for exploitation.

All five, plus Bogumila Mirga, face two identical counts in relation to the wife.

Wladyslaw Gil is charged with four counts of actual bodily harm against Mr. Wylezol and Mateusz Gil is charged with four counts of sexual assault against the wife.

They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges, which date from January 1, 2009 until September 30, 2010 and the trial is expected to last six weeks.

Trial continues………..