A cruel boss, who
repeatedly raped an Indian domestic servant, who was used and abused
by him as a “sexual toy” and by two women as a “general
dogsbody” have been convicted.
The 39 year-old vulnerable
and illiterate mother-of-four became a virtual slave of the family
for six years, despite repeated complaints to the police and social
services.
She was also scalded with
boiling water, burned with a hot iron, beaten and threatened that if
she complained her throat would be cut and her body buried in a back
garden, Croydon Crown Court heard.
She worked sixteen hours a
day, seven days a week, between October 2004 and October 2010, which
even at a minimum wage rate should have seen her paid £172,288. In
reality she received just £2,364.
Butcher Enkarta Balapovi,
53, (pic.top) of Charlbert Street, St. John's Wood was convicted of
five counts of rape.
Optician Shashi Obhrai,
53, (pic.mid.) of Pembroke Road, Northwood was convicted of causing
actual bodily harm and threatening to kill the victim.
Secretary Shamina Yousuf,
33, (pic.bottom) of Pavilion Way, Edgware was convicted of causing
actual bodily harm.
All three will be
sentenced on May 16.
After the verdicts the
victim said: “They have treated me so badly that I worry at night
that they will come for me.
“When I think of Salim
(Balapovi) I feel like my wounds are reopened. I can't move on - he
raped me.
“Shashi Obhrai put a hot
iron on my arm when I asked her for my earnings to be paid.
"These people are
dangerous they have ruined my life and kept me away from my children.
Each should be punished for their wrongdoings."
Detective Chief Inspector
Nick Sumner of the Trafficking and Prostitution Unit, said: "This
victim came to the UK to earn enough money to provide her children
back in India with a better life, but instead the defendants made her
own life a living hell for over three years.
"She is deeply
traumatised yet found the courage to seek help and face her abusers
in court because she does not want these people to able to hurt
anyone else."
Prosecutor Miss Caroline
Haughey told the jury: "Each of these defendants have
collectively and severally taken advantage of her, abusing her in
their own way and when she either becomes a threat or a nuisance is
passed on to the next party until she is no longer wanted.
"Their view of her
has resulted in a prolonged and continued abuse of her.
"Each of the
defendants knew of her lack of education, expectation and awareness
both in the U.K. and India and used that to get her to comply with
their wishes whether as a domestic worker, sexual toy or general
dogsbody."
The court heard the victim
was never paid her promised wage, had her passport confiscated, was
fed scraps and leftovers, including food spat out by the defendant
Obhrai's children, and slept in a garage and on the floors of various
properties.
"Each of these
defendants treated her with contempt, ignoring her basic rights and
taking advantage of her naivety, her vulnerability and her
ignorance," explained Miss Haughey.
"Tragically various
state agencies failed her too, ignoring her repeated pleas for help,
not adhering to their own investigative practices, and it could be
said ignoring the obvious."
The family successfully
applied for a visa, allowing the victim to work in the U.K., promised
to pay her £480 per month and she moved into the Pavilion Way
address with Yousuf, her husband and their child.
"She slept in the
garage or on the floor of the child's room…..She was expected to
wash, cook and clean for the family and be at their beck and call.
"Yousuf was
short-tempered and aggressive with her," added Miss Haughey.
"She recalls being beaten around the head, causing her ears to
bleed, and Yousuf poured boiling water over her hands and forbid her
to receive any medical treatment."
When Yousuf threw a cup at
the victim, causing a two inch cut to her foot, she was arrested, but
the husband threatened her into dropping the allegation and the
police did not pursue the complaints she made to them.
After two years and eight
months with the couple, who paid just £24 for that period, the
victim escaped with the help of a Pakistani stranger at a
supermarket.
Desperate to get her
passport back she agreed to move in with Balapovi and his wife, where
she massaged their legs and feet and was forced to work for £2-per
hour at a sandwich shop downstairs.
"It was while at this
address she was subjected to a catalogue of sexual assaults by
Balapovi," said Miss Haughey, explaining the first incident
involved the defendant ripping off the victim's pyjamas and raping
her on the only bed in the flat.
"She describes how
this happened repeatedly, usually on weekends, Mondays and Tuesdays.
She says it happened for: 'As long as I lived in the house'."
After four months with the
couple the victim was assisted by a charity and her rape complaints
reported to the police, but she was then handed over to Obhrai and
her ordeal continued.
Her daily routine included
cooking for eight people, washing, cleaning, looking after Obhrai's
sick mother and enduring beatings, hair pulling and threats at the
hands of the defendant - eventually leaving her no option but to
attempt suicide by slashing her wrists.
She was hospitalised after
being pushed down a flight of stairs, struck with a rolling pin,
burned with a hot iron and suffered stomach cramps and vomiting when
forced to eat out of date food, the jury were told.
Again the victim fled and
reported the abuse to police, but no action was taken and the
beatings continued, with Obhrai threatening to slit her throat and
bury her in the back garden.
Eventually she contacted
the charity Kalayaan, which campaigns for justice for migrant
workers, who referred her to the U.K. Human Trafficking Centre and an
investigation began.