A callous landlady who made a vulnerable woman abandon her family so she could be kept as a domestic slave for seven years has been jailed.
Wealthy Farzana Kausar, 58, controlled the victim's finances, cutting her off from her family and forcing her to cook, care and clean for her children.
She gradually trapped her over a period of 16 years, through a campaign of physical and psychological abuse, Lewes Crown Court court was told.
She would move the woman between properties in Sussex and London - forcing her to carry out domestic tasks such as cooking, cleaning, household chores and minding children.
Kausar, from Worthing, West Sussex, would accompany her to all of medical appointments, pretending to be her carer, and took full control of her victim's finances - opening and withdrawing money from bank accounts in her name and making benefit claims on her behalf.
Her bank accounts were also used to pay bills from across Kausar's property empire and her name was used to register Kausar's car for disabled use - allowing her to dodge road tax and park in disabled bays.
Police were first alerted to the landlady's callous treatment of her tenant in May 2019 when a nanny who had been employed to support Kausar's family noticed one of the helpers was treated differently.
She reported that the victim was subjected to abuse and appeared to be carrying out most of the household chores while also living at the address.
The nanny informed Adult Social Services - explaining that "something didn't feel quite right" about the situation, and the report was passed on to Sussex Police.
Officers paid a visit to the address where they found all of the victim's belongings were in black bin bags, while she was forced to sleep in the children's bedroom.
She had no access to her ID documents, passports or bank cards, which were found in a locked room - along with financial documents made out in her name to addresses to which she had no connection.
Kausar was arrested on suspicion of modern slavery offences and assault, and was released on conditional bail while police continued to make enquiries.
The victim was temporarily housed in Brighton and Hove and supported by social services, but disappeared a short while later.
Her phone numbers were disconnected, she left her GP and made no contact with any of the support services.
The victim only resurfaced when the officer in charge of the case received a letter - supposedly from the victim - retracting her allegations and claiming it was an elaborate set-up by the informant to get Kausar into trouble.
But in May 2020 police were able to trace the victim to an address in London.
It was revealed she had been forced to write the letter under duress by Kausar in an attempt to cover up her crimes.
The woman was freed for a second time and placed in safe accommodation, while Kausar was further arrested for attempting to pervert the course of justice.
A jury at Lewes Crown Court, East Sussex took just three hours to find Kausar guilty of keeping a person in slavery/servitude and perverting the course of justice on October 13.
She was jailed for six years and eight months at the same court.
Her victim remains in the care of health services.
In addition to the prison sentence, Kausar's assets have been restricted and a financial investigation is underway to determine a level of compensation to be owed.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Josh Bellamy, of Sussex Police, said: “Over the course of 16 years, Farzana Kausar steadily deprived her victim of her own liberty and the very freedoms that one takes for granted.
"Kausar’s actions depended on the vulnerability and desperation of her victim, a person who had originally come to Kausar for refuge.
“The victim in this investigation would have remained hidden, trapped in a cycle of abuse and control, had it not been for the actions of the nanny employed to work for Kausar.
“By spotting the signs of modern slavery, trusting her gut and speaking out about what she had witnessed, officers were able to intervene and protect a vulnerable woman worn down by years of abuse.
“The abuse inflicted by Kausar on her victim will have a life-long impact and its effects will never truly fade.
"Today’s sentence reflects the severity of such abuse and the importance of speaking out when things ‘don’t appear quite right’.”
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Simon Morgan, of Sussex Police, added: “This is a truly insidious and pernicious crime. Farzana Kausar consciously and wilfully exploited her victim, and over these long years of domestic servitude she built up her chains of control.
“These invisible shackles served to bind her victim to work without payment or allow access to the freedoms, rights and benefits to which she was entitled. Kausar instead callously diverted them for her own gain and would have continued to do so.
“Modern slavery is often a hidden crime and something all society should be vigilant in recognising and reporting. This is an important case for Sussex Police, and we hope to continue to bring justice for more victims of this crime in the future and achieve similarly robust sentences.
“I would like to praise the determination, bravery and patience of the victim, who supported this investigation over the last few years, allowing us to bring this case to court and achieve this sentence today. She is now free to live without fear of exploitation and abuse.
“I would also like to thank the key witnesses, especially our initial informant, who has shown resolve and bravery in both her actions and her continuous support.
“The sentence today should provide a suitable deterrent and warning to those who may consider perpetrating this type of exploitation in the future.”
