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Eccles pair guilty of trafficking servant girl Eccles pair guilty of trafficking servant girl
(35 minutes later)
A couple have been found guilty of trafficking a vulnerable girl to the UK who was repeatedly raped and kept as a domestic servant for nearly a decade. A couple who trafficked to the UK a 10-year-old girl who was repeatedly raped and kept as a domestic servant for nearly a decade, have been convicted.
Ilyas and Tallat Ashar brought the girl, who is deaf, from Pakistan and kept her at their home in Eccles, Salford, where she slept in the cellar.Ilyas and Tallat Ashar brought the girl, who is deaf, from Pakistan and kept her at their home in Eccles, Salford, where she slept in the cellar.
Ilyas Ashar, 84, was found guilty of 13 counts of raping the girl, now in her 20s, who was found in 2009. Ilyas Ashar, 84, was also found guilty of 13 counts of raping the girl, now in her 20s, who was found in 2009.
They will be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court at a later date. The couple will be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court at a later date.
Tallat Ashar, 68, was found guilty of trafficking and benefit fraud at an earlier trial, as was her husband.Tallat Ashar, 68, was found guilty of trafficking and benefit fraud at an earlier trial, as was her husband.
This can now be reported due to the lifting of reporting restrictions following Ilyas Ashar's conviction for rape at a retrial. This can now be reported after the lifting of reporting restrictions, following Ilyas Ashar's conviction for rape at a retrial.
The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was only found after trading standards officials visited the home investigating allegations of illegal activity. 'Exploited financially'
The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was only found after trading standards officials visited the home investigating allegations of illegal activity.
She was found in the cellar, which was described as "sparse, cold and damp".She was found in the cellar, which was described as "sparse, cold and damp".
Details of her ordeal only emerged after she was taught sign language so she could be interviewed by police. Details of her ordeal only emerged after she was taught sign language, enabling her to be interviewed by police.
Ian Rushton, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said the victim was "one of the most vulnerable" they had ever encountered.
"When she was first brought to the UK she was just a child," he said.
"She was unable to hear or speak and had no formal sign language through which to communicate, no family or friends to turn to, had never been to school and had no knowledge of this country's culture and society.
"She was used as forced labour by the Ashars - ill-treated and exploited financially and repeatedly raped by Ilyas Ashar. We have been determined to bring them to justice for this catalogue of abuse."