A couple have been jailed for a total of
18 years for trafficking a deaf and mute girl into the UK, where she was
repeatedly raped and subjected to forced labour.
Ilyas Ashar, 84, and his wife Tallat Ashar, 68, forced the vulnerable youngster to sleep in the cellar of their home in Greater Manchester, where she was beaten and slapped, and led a life of domestic servitude for almost a decade.
The girl was also used to steal more than £30,000 in benefits on her behalf.
She was even taught enough sign language by the family so she could agree to the benefit money being handed over.
Their victim had no family or friends in the UK and had never been to school in Pakistan or Britain.
Ilyas Ashar also routinely raped the girl from the moment he brought
her into the UK from Pakistan, aged around 10, in June 2000.
Ashar was convicted of 13 specimen counts of rape by a jury last week, though the court heard the rapes happened "many, many times more".
He had also been convicted at an earlier trial of two counts of trafficking a person into the UK for exploitation, two counts of furnishing false information to obtain a benefit and one of permitting furnishing of false information to obtain a benefit.
He was jailed for 13 years at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester.
His wife was jailed for five years for two counts of trafficking a person into the UK for exploitation, and four counts of furnishing false information to obtain a benefit.
Their daughter, Faaiza Ashar, 46, who was found guilty at an earlier trial of two counts of furnishing false information to obtain a benefit, and one count of permitting furnishing of false information to obtain a benefit, was given a 12 month community order with 300 hours of unpaid work.
Passing sentence Judge Peter Lakin said: "You Ilyas Ashar and you Tallat Ashar did not treat this girl as a human being.
"To you she was merely an object to be used, abused and cast aside at will.
"You took full advantage of her extreme vulnerability.
"You exploited her physically, you exploited her mentally and you exploited her economically.
"There was throughout a distasteful undercurrent of violence and intimidation.
"All that she had in her life was the love of her family and her own human dignity. You two took that away from her. You consigned her to a life of misery and degradation.
"Throughout these proceedings not one of you have shown any remorse.
"You are concerned with your own selfish, self-centred interests.
"You Ilyas and Tallat Ashar are deeply unpleasant, highly manipulative and dishonest people."
When police and local trading standards raided the Ashar family home in Cromwell Road, Eccles, in Salford, on June 8, 2009, officers were "shocked" to discover the girl asleep in the cold and dark cellar.
One officer likened her behaviour to that of an "animal" - not allowed to sit on the furniture - and an indication of her status in the house.
She was taken from the house and is now doing well with the help of social services, the court heard.
A proceeds of crime hearing will be held next year to recoup the benefits stolen by the Ashars.
They had fought the case at every turn, mounting a series of legal challenges and appealing but failing to overturn their convictions at the Court of Appeal.
Source : Key103 , 23rd October 2013
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Jailed: Couple who trafficked deaf girl and treated her as 'sub-human'
A couple who trafficked a deaf girl into the country to work as a domestic servant were jailed today.
Ilyas Ashar, 84, who also repeatedly raped her, was caged for 13 years.
His wife Tallat Ashar, 68, was jailed for five years.
The couple, and their daughter Faaiza Ashar, 46, were also convicted of benefit fraud relating to the girl.
Faaiza Ashar was ordered to complete a 12-month community order with unpaid work of 300 hours.
Passing sentence today, Judge Peter Lakin said Faaiza had been 'manipulated' by her parents.
He told the couple that the victim had been exploited physically, mentally and economically.
Judge Lakin said: “You Ilyas Ashar and you Tallat Ashar did not treat the victim as a fellow human being.
“To you she was merely an object to be used, abused and cast aside at will.”
Both Ilyas and Tallat Ashar will face a court hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover their ill-gotten gains.
The young victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons and couldn't speak, suffered a decade of harrowing sexual abuse at the hands of evil Ilyas Ashar.
She slept in a cellar at the couple's home on Cromwell Road in Eccles, Salford, and was forced to work as a domestic servant, cooking, cleaning, sewing and washing cars for the family and their friends.
The convictions and sentences mark the culmination of two lengthy and unique criminal trials.
The victim was only able to detail the extent of her abuse to police after she was taught basic sign language by experts.
She was brought by the couple to Salford from a village in Lahore, Pakistan, in 2000 aged around nine or 10. Her exact date of birth is not known.
But she was taught how to sign by experts over months and
gave her evidence in court through sign language, leading to the
convictions.
All three denied all the charges that they faced.
Ilyas Ashar was found guilty at a re-trial of 13 counts of rape.
He was found guilty last year after a trial of two counts of trafficking a person into the UK for exploitation.
His wife Tallat was found guilty at the same trial last year of two counts of trafficking a person into the UK for exploitation.
The couple, alongside their daughter Faaiza, of Milton Road, Eccles, were also found guilty of benefit fraud.
The jury failed to reach a verdict on charges of false imprisonment, which both Ilyas and Tallat Ashar denied.
Today the brave victim is celebrating new hope after she was rescued from their evil clutches. Her life has been transformed thanks to police, social workers and sign language experts.
Now thought to in her early twenties, she is receiving lessons in numeracy and literacy at a college and has told police, who continue to monitor her progress, that she enjoys walking in fresh air, travelling on buses and visiting fairgrounds.
Chief Superintendent Mary Doyle, said: “Today's sentences reflect the awful nature of this highly emotive case.
“It
is right that we focus today on the Ashar's exploitation and cruelty,
but I don't want people to lose sight of two important aspects of this
case.
“Firstly, the victim has shown almost impossible courage and strength in the face of overwhelming obstacles, both physical and emotional, and has blossomed into the kind of young woman that anyone would be proud to know.
“Secondly, this sheds a real light on the issue of trafficking and reminds us all that there are people out there willing to bring people to this country purely to be exploited.”
Source : Manchester Evening News , 23rd October 2013
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