A charity owner who invited a vulnerable pensioner to live with her in her home had been treating the woman as a slave by making her do demand chores and forcing her to eat pet food.
64-year-old Maria Miller first invited the 74-year-old senior with learning disabilities to live with her at her house in London back in 2012.
After providing the senior with a place to stay, the cat charity boss had kept the woman as a slave and forced her to shop for her, do menial chores, and even beg people for money.
In addition, the 64-year-old got her hands on the woman’s bank account and emptied it to go on vacations and buy herself new cars and designer clothes.
According to the reports, Miller would often lock her ‘guest’ outside the house and forced her to go to the bathroom there. She would also restrict her from eating inside the home which is why the pensioner often resorted to eating pet food in order to deal with starvation.
Now, the police are investigating the case and Miller is facing jail time.
Speaking of the case, Richard Heatley of The Crown Prosecution Service expressed:
“This was an appalling case of modern slavery were a kind and vulnerable woman was manipulated and exploited for a number of years.
“The victim thought she was helping her friend with chores and charity work but in actual fact, she was being exploited in the most appalling way.
“Miller denied any wrongdoing and said that she had taken control of the victim’s finances because otherwise, the victim would hand her money out to strangers she just met.
“Modern slavery has a devastating, lasting impact on its victims. The CPS is working in partnership with the police and other criminal justice partners to build robust cases and deliver justice for victims.”
As Ellie Jones of the Metropolitan police added, “Miller targeted one of society’s most vulnerable with the motivation of financial gain, and in doing so treated her with an appalling level of inhumaneness.”
“I hope this sends out a message that the MPS will not tolerate such treatment of the vulnerable and will seek to bring the strongest charges for such shocking criminal conduct where appropriate,” he added.
“I would also like to put on record my thanks for those from our partner agencies who assisted in the investigation and were integral in bringing Miller to justice.”
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