Trafficked deaf orphan girl held as slave, court told

London: A deaf orphan girl was trafficked into Britain and forced to act as a virtual slave for a couple, a court was told.

Locked in a cellar each night, the ten-year-old was repeatedly raped and forced to carry out chores including cooking, cleaning, sewing and washing.

Ilyas Ashar, 83, and wife Tallat, 66, regularly beat the girl — dragging her by the hair if she was too slow and slapping her if the food was too hot or spicy.

The court was told the girl was repeatedly raped and sexually abused by Ashar and stabbed in the stomach.

Peter Cadwallader, prosecuting, said the girl had been brought from her home in Pakistan in 2000 after being told her parents had died.

Profoundly deaf and unable to speak, she went to live with the Ashars at their Victorian house in Eccles, near Manchester.

"She was brought to this country and exploited," said Cadwallader. "She was a victim of threats and violence throughout her life from being a little girl."

The Ashars, along with their daughter, Faaiza, 24 have denied charges brought against them by the prosecution.

The case continues.