Wife and carer jailed after enslaving disabled victim in his own home

The wife and carer of a man who requires 24-hour care and assistance with most tasks, have been jailed for 11 years each, after being convicted of modern slavery charges.

Tom Somerset-How, who was born with cerebral palsy, requires 24-hour care and is severely sight impaired, was deliberately neglected by his wife Sarah Somerset-How and George Webb, the live-in carer. 

They effectively enslaved him in his own home, after they started an affair in 2016, and tried to isolate him from his family and friends, with visits banned. He was left in bed for days with inadequate food, unable to stretch or move, which led to his physical state deteriorating further. 

The CPS took the decision to charge both defendants with modern slavery in a novel application of the legislation. 

Sarah Wilkinson from the CPS said: “Instead of caring for Tom, the two defendants treated him more like a piece of property and the level of care they did give him was almost non-existent. 

“This cruel and deliberate neglect went on for years, while all the time the defendants were living under his roof. 

“They were essentially keeping Tom in a complete state of dependency where they could control him, using his caring allowance and savings. 

"The Modern Slavery legislation fully reflected their criminality and the court agreed they were charged appropriately. 

"This was very much a sustained and planned campaign of neglect, where the pair exercised almost complete control over their victim, robbing him of the remaining autonomy he had.”