LONDON
A British couple of Pakistani origin have been ordered to pay £100,000 to a Pakistani deaf girl they kept as slave for years in their North England home.
The girl was found in a cellar of the Salford home belonging to Ilyas Ashar and his wife Tallat Ashar in 2009.
Ashar was jailed for 15 years, and his wife for six years.
Ashar, 85, had repeatedly raped the deaf girl who the couple brought from Pakistan to the U.K., when she was just 10-years-old. He was found guilty of 13 counts of rape.
The pair also claimed thousands of pounds of state benefits using the girl, who is now in her 20s. The court ordered the couple to pay back £41,968 for falsely claiming benefits along with £321,000 in court fees.
The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, gave evidence against the couple in court. She is unable to read and write. Police say she used a form of sign language to communicate her ordeal at the hands of the millionaire couple.
“The crimes of the Ashars are well-documented and, quite rightly, people continue to share a sense of disbelief at the prolonged cruelty they inflicted on their young victim,” Greater Manchester Police Chief Superintendent Mary Doyle said.
“The money will in no way make up for what she went through over a number of years, but it will help her move on with her life and continue her inspiring recovery from these awful events,” the police chief added.
Faaiza Ashar, the couple's 47-year-old daughter, was also found guilty of benefit fraud and handed down a 12-month community order with 300 hours of unpaid work.
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