Inside freezing shack with no running water and a bucket for a toilet where traveller kept a homeless man as a slave for TEN YEARS
Cruel slave master kept a homeless man he tricked in a shed and forced to work unpaid
A HOMELESS alcoholic was plucked from the streets he was living on with the promise of a flat and food, but was instead forced to work for nothing while living in a cold and filthy shed.
Cameron Bigger's keeper, traveller Johnny Moloney, who had duped the homeless man and kept him as a slave, was sentenced to four years behind bars today.
During the week long trial at St Albans Crown Court the jury heard Cameron had to complete building work, and slept in a shed or campervan at the back of a travellers site with no running water and a bucket for a toilet.
It would not be unusual for him to work 14 hours a day, seven days a week.
Moloney, who is unable to read or write, would cart Scotsman to Ireland, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Norway and Sweden for work.
The jury heard Cameron has tried to escape his prison in 2006, but the 30-year-old with three young children went after him - he was escorted back to St Albans after being given sleeping pills and put in a Portakabin.
Moloney was 18 when he first came across the homeless man in The Strand in London - Cameron had mental health issues and was a heavy drinker.
He was promised a stable home, with regular work, food and wages, and he agreed to go back to the defendants home in St Albans.
Cameron said: "I saw it as an opportunity not to be homeless anymore."
Moloney pleaded not guilty to knowingly holding a person in slavery or servitude and knowingly requiring another person to perform forced labour, between April 2010 and December 2014.
Today Judge Andrew Bright QC told Moloney the offences he had been found guilty of earlier this week represented "the deliberate degrading of a fellow human being over a substantial period of time.
"You forbade him from having any contact with friends and family".
Although the prosecution asserted Cameron had been kept as a slave from 2004, the charges began in 2010 when an Act of Parliament came into effect.
After a high profile arrest of a family of travellers in Leighton Buzzard in 2011 for slavery offences Cameron said he was paid £30 a day.
During the trial Moloney's wife Shanon Loveridge, 22, was found not guilty on the direction of the judge for the same two charges her husband was found guilty of.
Mr Shaw, prosecuting, told the jury that in the summer they travelled for paving work across England, Ireland and Europe. Moloney bought him a passport, which he kept under his control.
He said: "Whilst in the camper van, he had to use a bucket as a toilet and was not allowed to use the facilities in the house itself. He would empty it after using it in a drain by the house.
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"If he was lucky, he would get Sunday off. If he was feeling sick or got injured whilst working, he'd be given painkillers, but not given a day off work.
"He was told by the defendant if the police ever asked them how much they were getting paid for their work, they were to say they were getting £70 to £80 a day and to say they were looked after ok.
"He would not tell the police the true position as he was fearful of repercussions, namely being assaulted.
"He said that Moloney would sometimes slap him in the face, about five times in total. This was usually in relation to work.
"When he was asked why he never came to the police at an earlier stage, he said he was in fear of violence from them if he did.
"He was afraid that he would be searched for and hurt. He had been threatened to be beaten if he left.
"He told the police that Johnny Moloney had threatened to kill him before when he had failed to get enough business for work."
Eventually on Christmas Day 2014, Cameron made a 999 call and police arrived to find him in a camper van at the back of the house in Watford Road.
Moloney and his wife were arrested in March 2015. They would not make comment to police in interviews and Moloney chose not to go into the witness box to give evidence.
Detective Inspector Pete Frost, who led the investigation, said: "Firstly, I would like to thank the victim who has spoken about his dreadful ordeal and who has helped us to bring this prosecution.
"He has shown strength and courage throughout this process.
"I hope the sentence passed today brings some comfort to him, knowing that the man who treated him in such an appalling manner have been sentenced for what they have done.
"To think that another human being was subjected to such cruelty and suffering and in such a degrading manner is abhorrent and almost defies belief, particularly considering this has happened in the twenty first century.
"Sadly, this is the reality of modern slavery – which is unfortunately happening to others somewhere else right now.
"We all have a duty of care to watch out for and report suspicious activity which may be modern slavery so that we can help and prevent further suffering.
"I would ask anyone who has any suspicions at all that someone could be being subjected to modern slavery to call police immediately or the Modern Slavery helpline on: 0800 0121 700."
Peter Shaw, Crown Prosecution Advocate, said: "This case highlights the fact that both the police and the Crown Prosecution Service are committed to securing justice even in the most difficult circumstances and for the most vulnerable members of society.
"The victim was a vulnerable man who had been promised paid work and a place to live in a flat. The work was hard physical labour, consisting of digging driveways and carrying bricks.
"He was completely exploited by Moloney for financial gain and was treated in an appalling way.
"This case may not in fact be unique – I would urge any members of the public who are concerned that a member of their family or their friends may have been subjected to similar treatment should contact their police on 101 without delay – or visit:"
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