Dad-of-15 forced ‘dishevelled’ slave to live in garden shed with no toilet

A dad-of-15 kept a vulnerable man in ‘disgraceful’ conditions in his garden shed without a toilet or washing facilities, a court has heard.

James McCann, 69, has now been jailed at Newcastle Crown Court for modern slavery, ChronicleLive reports.

The 69-year-old, who was brought up in the travelling community, brought Hungarian national Andras Varga to the North East in 2017 and originally made him live in a tent on Blyth beach next to his caravan.

However, he was not allowed to use the caravan and was only given a small bowl of water to wash or did so in the sea and used public toilets in the area if needed.

A council officer spoke to Mr Varga, who spoke very little English, after noticing this tent, contacting police when seeing his ‘dishevelled and dirty’ state, the court heard.

McCann then moved him into a ‘metal hut’ in the back garden of his partner’s home in the Blyth area.

There were no toilets or washing facilities in this hut, with Mr Varga having to go to a local supermarket to use the toilet.

Mr Varga was put to work by McCann, paying him £10 to £20 a day to do jobs such as gardening for as long as five hours a day.

Prosecutor Vince Ward said: “He has exploited Mr Varga for cheap labour.”

He added: “Mr Varga was in the UK with no family or friends and he spoke very little English.

“He knew he was being exploited but said it was better for him than living on the streets.

“But he said he might have caught hypothermia and not survived had they not found him.”

On November 30, 2017 Mr Varga was found and rescued by police.

Mr Ward said when Mr Varga was found “he was dishevelled, wearing several layers of clothing and appeared drunk”.

McCann claimed that Mr Varga had said he preferred to stay in the shed than in the house.

He told officers he had taken pity on his victim and fed him well.

Mr Varga has since died of an unrelated illness in Hungary, the court heard.

McCann, who has 51 previous convictions, including for violence and dishonesty, pleaded guilty to the offence under the Modern Slavery Act of holding Mr Varga in slavery between November 1 and November 30, 2017.

He was jailed for two years and nine months.

Sentencing him, Judge Edward Bindloss said: “In the shed it was a limited space, with an unfit door and there was a camp bed with a dirty sleeping bag on it.

“There was no toilet or sink or laundry and he had to use a toilet in a supermarket because he was not allowed in the house.

“These offences are always serious because of the lack of autonomy given to a person in his position.”

Joe Hedworth, defending, said McCann had suffered heart attacks and has other health problems.

Mr Hedworth added: “He would be offering a sincere apology to Mr Varga if he was still with us, for the distress he caused, unintentionally.

“He lived in that shed for a significant period of time himself.”

Mr Hedworth said the financial gain to McCann would have been up to £200, there was no violence used or threatened and said his understanding of the offending was limited.

The court heard McCann, now of Green Road, Kinross, Scotland, didn’t go to school or learn to read or write.

Source: ( MEN News)