Farm Owner Who treated Vulnerable Man 'Like a Slave' Working 15 Hour Days for 13 Years Without Pay and Sleeping in Rat-Infested Caravan is Jailed
- Darrell Simester was forced to work with no pay for 13 years on a farm
- David Dan Doran did not pay Mr Simester for his 15-hour long days
- Mr Simester was hitch-hiking when Doran picked him up on the road side
- He was found living in a caravan and forced to wash in a trough
- Doran pleaded guilty to making Mr Simester perform forced labour
- He was jailed for four and a half years by Cardiff Crown Court
- His father Daniel Doran was found not guilty of the same charge
- The charges only related to a three-year period between 2010 and 2013
- Over that period Mr Simester should have earned up to £260,000
- Judge Neil Bidder said: 'you did not treat him much better than a slave'
Daily Mail UK, 27 October 2014
A farm owner who forced a vulnerable man to work for him for 13 years without pay has been jailed for four and a half years.
Missing Kidderminster man Darrell Simester was found in an appalling state on Cariad Farm near Newport, South Wales, UK last year.
Jailing Doran, Judge Neil Bidder told Cardiff Crown Court: 'In truth, you did not treat him much better than a slave.'
David Dan Doran, top, forced Darrell Simester, to work on his farm for 13 years without pay
Cardiff Crown Court heard that Mr Simester lived in a rat-infested caravan for a decade and would wash himself in an animal trough after working 15 hour days for farm owner David Dan Doran.
Mr Simester's parents Tony and Jean described their eldest child as unrecognisable and looking more like a man in his nineties when reunited with him.
In a statement outside the court today, Mr Simester's father Tony said:' What our son Darrell went through for 13 years was appalling and caused a lot of damage and harm. Thankfully since returning home, he continues to recover both mentally and physically.
'I have to ask the people of Wales and the rest of the UK to be extra vigilant at all times. This form of slavery could be happening right under your noses.
'Co-ordinated efforts between police and other agencies with the assistance of the public are required to stamp it out. I can only hope that by working together another family will be saved from the hardship we have encountered.'
Speaking outside the court, Tony Simester, left, said his son Darrell, right is slowly recovering from his ordeal
Mr Simester was held in a caravan on the Cariad Farm near Newport, south Wales between 2010 and 2013
Cardiff Crown Court today heard that, given the long hours Mr Simester worked, he could have earned more than £200,000 if paid the minimum wage.
Judge Neil Bidder said it was clear horse breeder Doran had taken advantage of a man with low intelligence.
Quote:
SEMISTER FAMILY STATEMENT OUTSIDE CARDIFF CROWN COURT'What our son Darrell went through for 13 years was appalling and caused a lot of damage and harm. Thankfully since returning home, he continues to recover both mentally and physically.
'I have to ask the people of Wales and the rest of the UK to be extra vigilant at all times. This form of slavery could be happening right under your noses.
'Co-ordinated efforts between police and other agencies with the assistance of the public are required to stamp it out. I can only hope that by working together another family will be saved from the hardship we have encountered.'
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Quote:
Judge Bidder said: 'He was not paid a penny by you for 13 years of hard labour, without holiday, from 7am to 10 or 11pm.
'At the current minimum wage, you profited by his labour by something over £200,000.
'You cared not at all about his health, which undoubtedly deteriorated during his time at the farm.
'I do not believe you were unaware that he worked for years for you, doing heavy manual labour, with a hernia the size of a grapefruit.
'The threat you knew was held over him was leaving the farm and fending for himself, which he was frightened to do.
'This was economic exploitation of a very inadequate individual of a very serious and ruthless kind.
'You provided him with a roof over his head and food, but in truth you did not treat him much better than a slave.'
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Mr Simester, 44, was forced to wash in this trough outside after working for 15 hours a day
Mr Simester was living in this caravan when police rescued him from his long-running ordeal
Judge Bidder said: 'This was economic exploitation of a ruthless and serious kind against a very inadequate individual.
'When his parents and elder brother saw him for the first time after 13 years he was barely recognisable and looked like an old man - though he was only 43 years old.
'This offence involved the degradation and exploitation of a vulnerable human being who had lost contact with anyone with whom he could turn to help'.
Mr Simester was told that he would be shot and buried in a pit if he ever tried to leave,,,,, along with the farm's dead horses.
Mr Simester met Doran as he was hitch hiking when the farm owner offered him a job in April 2000
Mr Simester was forced to this outside toilet near the caravan he stayed in while working on the farm
Doran, pictured with his father Daniel outside Cardiff Crown Court was told by Judge Neil Bidder that Mr Simester should have earned in the region of £200,000 even at current minimum wage rates
Prosecutor John Hipkin QC said: 'This is a timid man who for 13 years was forced to work against his will under menace.
'He worked every day starting at 7am and finishing between 10-11pm and didn't receive a penny.'
Mr Simester was hitch hiking home from a trip to the seaside in 2000 when Doran gave him a lift and took to take him to his horse breeding farm in Peterstone, near Newport, South Wales.
Mr Simester was forced to wash using a horse trough outside a stable on the farm in Newport
He was put to work shovelling manure and carrying out all the tasks on the farm that no one else would do.
Cardiff Crown Court heard his family finally found him last year - but he was in such a 'horrific state' they didn't recognise him.
Doran was jailed for four-and-a-half years after admitting requiring another human being to perform forced or compulsory labour between April 2010 and March 2013.
He escaped punishment for the first 10 years because the law only came in during 2010.
The prosecution said that during the three years covered by the charge Mr Simister should have earned between £180,000 and £260,000 in wages, overtime and weekend working.
In a victim impact statement Mr Simester's family said when they tracked him down to the farm he was a 'broken man'.
The court heard Mr Simester, who was in court to see tormentor being jailed, was now improving in health and was back in the care of his family who are helping him overcome his 13 year ordeal.
His father Tony Simester, 67, said: 'This conviction is a vital step towards tackling this type of modern day slavery.
'What Darrell went through for 13 years was appalling and caused a lot of damage and harm.
'Thankfully since returning home he continues to recover both mentally and physically.
'People in the UK should be extra vigilant because this form of slavery could be happening right under their noses.
'It won't be easy to stamp it out but if you have been a victim of this crime or suspect anything please ring then police.'
Mr Simester has held at Cariad Farm, pictured, in Peterstone near Newport, Wales between 2000 and 2013
After his rescue in March 2013, police launched a major search at the farm owned by Doran
When he was found last year, Mr Simester was wearing these boots and jumper
Catrin Attwell, Senior Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service in Wales said after the case:
'Over a prolonged period Darrell Simester was forced to work extremely long hours for no pay, in pitiful conditions and in a poor physical state.
'At the conclusion of the prosecution case in the trial, David Daniel Doran changed his plea to guilty. He thereby accepted that he deliberately exploited Darrell Simester, a vulnerable and timid man.
'There is no place for any form of modern day slavery in our communities.
'All of us within the criminal justice system are working hard to ensure that those who seek to exploit others in this way face the consequences of their actions.
'If there is a positive to be drawn from this case, I hope it will be to raise public awareness of this issue.
'People in the heart of our local communities are often the ones best placed to spot the signs of exploitation taking place. I would urge anyone who may have any such concerns to contact their local police immediately.
'Today's sentencing concludes the criminal justice process and I hope that this will help Darrell and his family as they seek to move forward with their lives.'
Detective Superintendent Paul Griffiths, Senior Investigating Officer for Operation Imperial said:
'This investigation has been a complicated and protracted enquiry, which has involved a number of different agencies and organisations working together.
'The years of exploitation by Dan Doran Jnr was an appalling betrayal of Darrell Simester, taking advantage of his vulnerable and timid nature.
'Throughout this investigation and trial, the victim and his family have shown remarkable courage and resilience. I pay tribute to them for their determination in helping to bring the offender to justice.
'I sincerely hope that they can now move on with their lives.
'Whilst this kind of prosecution is rare, incidents of Slavery, Servitude and Forced labour are being identified across the UK. Gwent Police remain committed to working with partners in supporting vulnerable victims and prosecuting the offenders.
'This kind of exploitation has no place in our modern society and I would urge anyone with concerns or suspicions that this kind of criminality is occurring in their community to ring 101 or provide any information completely anonymously by ringing Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
'We will always investigate allegations of exploitation, and where we find evidence of criminality we will support any victims and bring those responsible to justice.'
"Slavery Closer Than You Think." Campaign by UK's Home Office
"Slavery Closer Than You Think."
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