Family guilty of treating girl, 13, like slave

A family of Romanian immigrants who trafficked a teenage girl into Britain and treated her like a slave has been convicted by a jury.

Busoic Vasile, Claudia Stoica, Marin Vasile and Iuri Stanciu, from Slough, All exploited the girl, who was just 13-years-old at the time.

They deprived her of food and forced her to sell the Big Issue magazine for 10 hoours a day, wearing thin clothing in freezing conditions, Reading Crown Court heard.

After a two-week trial, the defendants were convicted of 10 offences between them on Wednesday.  They had all denied mistreateing the girl.

Busoic Vasile, 22, of Spackman's Way, and 43-year-old Iuri Stanciu, who gave address as custody, were convicted of facilitating the girls arrival into the UK for the purposes of her being exploited by another person.
They and 36-year-old Claudia Stoica and Marin Vasile, 34, also in custody, were convicted of further facilitating the girl's travel inside the UK for her to be exploited.

Stanciu alone was found guilty of perverting the course of justice and he, Marin Vasile and Stoica were also convicted of cruelty to a person under the age of 16 years.
Anjelica Mazarache was cleared of facilitating the girl's arrival and travel in the UK.

Judge Zoe Smith is set to pass sentence on November 14.

Read more in this week's Slough Express.