Woman kept as slave for more than 20 years

A woman has been found guilty of keeping another woman with a learning difficulties captive for more than 20 years and using her as a slave.

Mandy Wixon, 56, made the vulnerable woman, who the BBC is calling K, clean her home in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, and force-fed her bleach and cleaning products, police said.

At Gloucester Crown Court on Wednesday, Wixon was convicted of three counts of assault and two counts of compulsory labour, and was found guilty of all counts but one count of actual bodily harm between 23 May 2018 and 23 May 2019.

The BBC has only become able to report details of the case at this stage due to reporting restrictions.

The court heard that K was born into a dysfunctional family and, when she was about 16 in 1996, she was given to Wixon, who had a loose connection to her family.

Now in her 40s, K was found by police on 15 March 2021 after one of Wixon's sons, who left the home in Tewkesbury, raised concerns for K's welfare.

Gloucester Crown Court heard K was regularly beaten and also hit with a broom handle – knocking out her teeth.

Washing-up liquid would be squirted down her throat, bleach splashed on her face, and she had her head repeatedly shaved against her will, the court heard.

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