Mom of 10 Held Woman Captive in Her Home for Over 20 Years, Forced Her to Work as ‘House Slave’ from Age 16: ‘Unimaginable Cruelty’

A woman in England has been found guilty of modern-day slavery offenses after keeping a vulnerable victim captive in her home for more than two decades, authorities said.

On Wednesday, Jan. 21, a jury at Gloucestershire Crown Court convicted Amanda Wixon, 56, of two counts of forced or compulsory labour, one count of false imprisonment, and three counts of assault, according to a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) news release.

“During her more than 20-year imprisonment, the victim was repeatedly beaten while being forced to clean and sweep the floors of Wixon’s home and get her children ready for school,” the CPS said.

Sky News reported, citing the court hearing, that the victim worked as a “house slave” for Wixon and her 10 children.

Gloucestershire Constabulary said in a separate news release posted on Facebook that “Wixon was found guilty of [modern-day] slavery [offenses]” following an investigation by the police team’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Police also shared images showing the conditions the victim was made to live in.

The victim — now in her 40s and described by police as having learning difficulties — moved into Wixon’s family home in 1996 after Wixon “assumed responsibility” for her, authorities said. The Times reported that the victim was 16 years old at the time.

“For more than two decades Wixon kept the victim in squalid conditions; locking her in the house and depriving her of food, health and dental care,” police said, adding that she also “deprived” the victim of money.

Authorities said Wixon claimed benefits for the victim from 2000, with payments going into Wixon’s bank account. Despite that, the victim was forced to live in poverty and wear hand-me-down clothing, police said.

According to the police account presented to the jury, the victim was “exploited” and made to complete chores under the threat of violence. She was “made to spend hours on her knees each day” doing housework, police said.

Police said Wixon controlled basic hygiene as well, alleging she forbade the victim from washing herself while requiring her to bathe the children and run baths for Wixon. The victim was allowed one meal a day — often leftovers or scraps — and sometimes hid sweet foods to eat secretly when she was hungry, authorities said.

Investigators said threats were routinely enforced with physical violence. Between January 1997 and March 2021, the victim alleged Wixon strangled her, pushed her head into a toilet, and poured cleaning fluids on her face and down her throat.

Police also said Wixon stamped on the victim and struck her in the face with a broom handle, causing her to lose teeth. She allegedly shaved off the victim’s hair against her wishes. In another incident, police said Wixon discovered the victim had been given a cell phone, took it from her, hit her in the face — leaving a black eye — and then smashed the device with a hammer.

On March 15, 2021, the victim called someone she knew for help using another phone she had been given in secret, police said. The CPS added that one of Wixon’s sons also contacted police that night, saying he was worried about the victim’s welfare.

When officers arrived at around 10:40 p.m. local time, they found the victim “frightened” and “gaunt,” police said, adding she “smelt strongly of body [odor].” Authorities said she was malnourished, her hair had been forcibly cut, and she had not received dental care.

Doctors noted scarring around her mouth believed to be linked to contact with cleaning fluids, and calluses on her ankles consistent with her account of spending hours on her knees cleaning, police said. A dentist later said the victim would have suffered severe pain over the years from untreated infections and abscesses, authorities added.

Detective Constable Emma Jackson of Gloucestershire Police said Wixon kept an “extremely vulnerable” victim captive in “appalling conditions” for over two decades. “Instead of caring for her, as she was supposed to, she exploited her and forced her to work in domestic servitude whilst subjecting her to the most cruel and inhumane treatment,” Jackson said. She added that the victim is now “flourishing.”

Senior Crown Prosecutor Laura Burgess said: “Amanda Wixon subjected the victim in this case to decades of unimaginable cruelty, exploitation and control. She was denied her freedom, her dignity, and even the most basic autonomy. The progress she has made since being removed from this oppressive environment is a testament to her strength.”

Wixon was released on bail and is due to be sentenced on March 12, according to The Times. She has denied the allegations against her.

Gloucestershire Constabulary did not immediately respond to a request for additional information.