Il proprietario degli “schiavi domestici” ha affermato che tenerli in gabbia faceva parte del loro apprendistato

Translation:

>A married couple from the Winterthur region exploited two young women as “house slaves” and kept them in a small cage. Today, Tuesday, they must answer for this at the District Court of Andelfingen, Zurich.

>The accused claims ignorance of coercion The wife of the 46-year-old Swiss man, who is on trial in Andelfingen today, claims to have known nothing about the abusive “caging” of the domestic staff. “I thought it was part of the training,” she said.

>”At the time, I really thought everything was fine,” the woman said during the questioning, in tears. She was new to Switzerland and did not know the employment conditions for domestic staff. Her husband had told her that the caging was part of the training. “I trusted him.”

>However, she had to admit that in her home country, domestic staff do not sleep in cages either. “But I never saw them cry,” she added. The women had also not asked for help. When the “master of the house” was not there, the wife helped the young domestic workers put on their restraints for the night.

>The public prosecutor is calling for the woman’s conviction for multiple counts of aiding and abetting deprivation of liberty. She should be punished with a suspended prison sentence of 10 months. Additionally, the Filipina is to be expelled from the country for 5 years.

>The 46-year-old Swiss man has basically admitted to everything during questioning. However, he said the indictment sounded rather exaggerated. “If you read the indictment, it sounds like Sodom and Gomorrah,” he said in court. “But there is another side.” The women had free time and their own clothes. “We lived together.”

>He did admit, however, that he was interested in a “non-consensual role-play.” But he did not want to speak of “coercion.” He had opened the cage immediately when the women demanded it. “Binding and imprisoning someone is not forbidden,” he said. “But I wouldn’t do it again today,” he added. “You can see from this trial that both sides can sign a contract, and one side might still not want it afterwards.”

>An assessment diagnosed him with a sadomasochistic tendency and a narcissistic personality disorder. The psychiatrist described the risk of a relapse into similar acts as “high.” The accused has been undergoing therapy since 2019.

>Lured to Switzerland with promises By promising young women from abroad training and a residence permit, he managed to lure a 22-year-old Filipina and a 30-year-old Brazilian into his house. His 32-year-old Filipina wife helped him with this.

>The first “house slave” was the 22-year-old, who was locked in the house from July 2018 to April 2019. According to the indictment, the accused led her to believe that he would arrange a residence permit for her. She could also receive training at the “International Maids School.” There, she would learn a lot about gastronomy and Swiss geography. However, this school does not exist.

>With hand and foot restraints in the cage Instead of training and a permit, the woman received a tightly scheduled timetable of household chores, earning only 800 francs a month, six days a week, on call around the clock.

>In her scant “free time,” the man locked her in a windowless cage with a floor area of just two square metres. Metal bars served as the door. There was no toilet, only a bucket – and a surveillance camera.

>He restrained her daily, except at Easter, on her birthday, and New Year’s Day. In addition to hand and foot restraints, she had to wear a leather collar connected to the restraints so that she could hardly move. According to the indictment, he told her that this was a requirement of the school.

>He conducted “exams” with her He also conducted “exams” with her. If she performed poorly, she was punished, for example, with restraints or having to wear tight-fitting gloves. If she did well, she was rewarded, with restaurant visits or a trip to the zoo. After ten months, the young woman was finally able to escape.

>In 2019, the IT project manager recruited another “house slave,” this time a 30-year-old Brazilian who came to Switzerland to learn German. According to the public prosecutor’s office, he promised her “German lessons of the highest standard.”

>Using the alias “Gustav Wohlenweber,” he sent her photos of the beautiful detached house with a pool. The 30-year-old’s existence as a “slave” lasted from the end of June to mid-July 2019 when she was finally freed by the police. The Filipina who had been previously imprisoned had reported the matter to the police.

>Only four more months in prison? The 46-year-old is charged, among other things, with human trafficking and deprivation of liberty. Because he has generally confessed, the trial is being conducted in an expedited procedure. His argument is that the women themselves agreed to the “setting” by signing the contract.

>If the court adopts the prosecution’s proposed sentence, the man will receive a partially suspended prison sentence of 36 months, of which he would serve only 9 months. Since “Gustav Wohlenweber” has already spent five months in pre-trial detention, he will likely have to spend another four months in prison.

>This will be accompanied by outpatient therapy. The “master of the house” has already paid the two victims a total of 16,000 francs as compensation. His wife, who was responsible for overseeing the “slaves,” is also on trial.

>She is to be punished for multiple counts of aiding and abetting deprivation of liberty with a suspended prison sentence of 10 months. In addition, the Filipina is to be expelled from the country for 5 years. The District Court of Andelfingen will announce the verdict on Wednesday. (pre/sda)