Woman jailed for keeping teenager as slave for 25 years
Amanda Wixon from Tewkesbury kept the girl isolated, regularly beating her and depriving her of food
Last updated 15 hours ago
A woman who kept a teenage girl as a slave for more than two decades has been jailed for 13 years.
Mother-of-10 Amanda Wixon, 56, from Tewkesbury, regularly beat her victim and also hit her with a broom handle - knocking out her teeth.
The woman, who is now in her mid-40s, was 16 when she moved into Wixon's squalid home in 1995 and remained there until 2021.
During the trial, Gloucester Crown Court heard Wixon squirted washing-up liquid down her victim's throat, and splashed bleach on her face.
Her food was also limited, and she lived off scraps, could not leave the house and was forced to secretly wash at night.
The family home in the Priors Park area of Tewkesbury, was overcrowded, with mould on the walls, plaster hanging off and rubbish in the back garden.
Police went to the house in March 2021 in response to a report made by one of Wixon's sons about the woman.
Officers described the woman's bedroom as looking like a "prison cell", with other bedrooms untidy and dirty.
Wixon denied a charge of false imprisonment, two charges of requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, and four charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
A jury acquitted her of one assault charge but found her guilty of the others.
During the sentencing hearing today (12 March) at Gloucester Crown Court, Sam Jones, prosecuting, read a note the victim had written to the court.
The woman, who is not being identified, said: “For 25 years, I lived in fear, control and abuse. I was treated as though my life, my freedom and my voice did not matter.
“Although my abuser has now been found guilty, the trauma and the nightmares are something I still carry with me every day.
“I am now living with a wonderful family who show me kindness, patience and support.
“Their love is helping me slowly rebuild the life that was taken from me and begin to feel safe again.
“Nothing can give me back the 25 years I lost.
“But I hope the court recognises the deep and lasting harm this abuse has caused and delivers a sentence that truly reflects the seriousness of these crimes.”
Passing sentence, Judge Ian Lawrie KC said Wixon was in “permanent denial” about the impact of her offending on the woman.
“The gravity of your offending is so serious that I am imposing a significant period of custody,” the judge said.
“You are to be punished for a series of offences spanning 20 years. You cruelly and persistently held captive this woman. This false imprisonment ran from her later teens until early 40s.
“The enduring persistent trauma of that slavery remains. This offending was not isolated and was persistent over many years.”