A man who admitted helping to exploit a worker who was made to live in a horse box, a disused caravan and a cramped 6ft shed for 40 years is to have his sentence reviewed. Peter Swailes, 56, from Low Harker, Carlisle, admitted conspiring with his father to financially exploit the man from July 2015 – when the Modern Slavery Act came into law.
He was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for 18 months, by Judge Richard Archer at Carlisle Crown Court on February 4. However, senior judges are set to review the sentence after the Attorney General’s Office referred it to the Court of Appeal for consideration as an unduly lenient sentence.
Solicitor General Alex Chalk QC said: “This was a very serious case of exploitation and I wish to express my sympathies to the victim. After careful consideration, I have decided to refer Peter Swailes’ sentence to the Court of Appeal as it appears to me to be unduly lenient.
“It is now for the court to decide whether to increase the sentence.” Prosecutors accepted Swailes’ guilty plea on the basis that, although he had known the victim for many years, he was unaware of his living conditions.
The vulnerable victim, who had a “very low” IQ of 59, was used and exploited during that period by Peter Swailes’ father – also called Peter – who was his “boss” at the various “accommodations” over the years.
Swailes Snr, 81, who died last year while awaiting trial for the modern slavery offences, approached the man when he was aged about 18 and invited him to work with him doing various jobs. In October 2018, the man was discovered by police living in a rotting, leaky shed near Carlisle, with no heating, no lighting and no flooring.
Swailes Jr accepted that, from “time to time” his father would contact him and arrange for the victim to undertake work with him, and that, “on occasion”, he paid him less than his minimum entitlement. The case came after a three-year investigation by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, supported by Cumbria Police and the National Crime Agency.
The victim, in his 60s, now lives in supported accommodation outside of Cumbria and has been helped by City Hearts, a charity providing long-term support to survivors of modern slavery.
