Couple accused of using mentally challenged man as slave

A couple from a caravan park in Tubbergen in Twente are accused of using a mentally challenged man as a kind of house slave for years. The Public Prosecutor believes they deserve a long prison sentence for this crime, she said in a pro-forma hearing in this criminal case in Almelo on Tuesday, AD reports.

According to the Prosecutor the couple, Adje B. (58) and Gretha K. (45), forced the 31-year-old man to work 16 hour days in their recycling business. If his work was not up to scratch, they locked him up in a caravan or shed at their home. The victim also had to transfer his benefit money to B.'s account.

The Prosecutor described the victim's accommodation as a "cage with no sanitation and with a lock on it." Evidence in this case includes highly incriminating statements from the couple's son and daughter. The Prosecutor promised the court that the sentence demand will be more than 2 years in prison.

The couple's lawyer, Roel van Faassen, asked that his clients be released. But the court ruled in favor of the Prosecutor, remanding them back into custody.

The couple has been in custody since mid-July. B. is in the prison in Almere. K. is in the women's wing in Zwolle.